Abstract
Electrospinning is an effective process for synthesis of polymer fibers with diameters ranging between nanometers and micrometers by employing electrostatic force developed due to application of high voltage. The present work aims to develop an electrospinning system and optimize the process parameters for synthesis of Polyvinyl Acetate thin films used for gas and humidity sensors. Taguchi’s Design of Experiment was adopted considering three main factors at three different levels for optimization of process parameters. The factors considered were flow rate (0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 ml/h), voltage (18, 19 and 20 kV) and spinneret to collector distance (8, 9, 10 cm) with fiber diameter as the response factor. The main effect plots and interaction plots of the parameters were studied to determine the most influencing parameter. Flow rate was the most significant factor followed by spinneret to collector distance. Least fiber diameter of 24.83 nm was observed at 19 kV, 0.5 ml/h flow rate and 8 cm spinneret to collector distance. SEM images revealed uniform fiber diameter at lower flow rate while bead formation increased monotonically with rise in flow rate.
Highlights
Research on thin films is evolving at a rapid pace because of their wide applications in areas such as microelectronics, wear resistance coatings, optical coatings and biological implants
Electrospinning is an effective process for synthesis of polymer fibers with diameters ranging between nanometers and micrometers by employing electrostatic force developed due to application of high voltage
Electrospinning uses high voltage for the generation of polymer thin films with fiber diameter in the range 10–500 nm depending on the process parameters (Wang et al 2012; Kiyak and Cakmak 2014)
Summary
Research on thin films is evolving at a rapid pace because of their wide applications in areas such as microelectronics, wear resistance coatings, optical coatings and biological implants. High voltage supply and flow rate are the most influencing parameters on the fiber diameter, whereas the concentration of polymer solution and distance between the spinneret and collector are the parameters that affect the morphology of nanofibers (Pankonian et al 2011). Different polymeric systems have been investigated for the development of nanofibers using electrospinning technique and the parameters considered at the first level are solution viscosity, polymer concentration and molecular weight. The authors emphasized the significance of electrospinning distance for generation and ease of fiber collection (Chaudhary and Ahuja 2014) In another approach, thermoplastic polymer solution was spun by varying input parameters such as concentration, voltage, flow rate, distance between collector and syringe tip. Syringe was mounted on the injection system to pump the polymer solution at required flow rate
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