Polysulfone nanofibers prepared by electrospinning and gas/jet- electrospinning

Abstract

Polysulfone nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. The electrospinning equipment was designed in a new way, wherein the spinneret was combined with a gas jet device. The intrinsic viscosity of the used polysulfone was 0.197 dL/g in dimethyl acetamide, which was also the solvent in electrospinning. The gas used in this gas jet/electrostatic spinning was nitrogen. The relationship between the process parameters and the average diameter of polysulfone nanofibers was investigated. The main process parameters studied in this work were the voltage, the flow rate of the spinning fluid, the distance between the spinneret and the nanofiber collector and the temperature in the spinning chamber. The other important factors determining the nanometer diameter were the spinning fluid properties including its viscosity, surface tension and electrical conductivity. The average diameter and the diameter distribution of electrospinning nanofibers were measured experimentally by using scanning electron microscopy. The diameter of polysulfone nanofibers prepared by the gas jet/ electrostatic spinning was in the range 50-500 nm. It was found that the diameter of nanofibers mainly depended on high voltage, the gap between the spinneret and the collector and the concentration of polymer solutions. It is concluded that the gas-jet/electrospinning is a better method than the conventional electrospinning, in that it makes the nanofibers finer and more uniform and exhibits higher efficiency in the process of electrospinning.