Dissipative particle dynamics simulations of centrifugal melt electrospinning

Abstract

The fibers obtained by centrifugal melt electrospinning exhibit high production efficiency, controllable morphology, and excellent mechanical properties. Therefore, centrifugal electrospinning technology is in alignment with the industrial development trend of superfine fiber preparation. However, during the rapid development of this new spin method, some fundamental understanding of the relationships between the fiber performance and centrifugal force, electric field force, and gravity is unclear. In this study, the effect of the spin factors on the fiber properties (diameter, yield, and molecular chain formation) is investigated by dissipative particle dynamics simulation. The results show that in an electrostatic field, if the rotating speed, temperature, and electric field intensity increases, the fiber diameter decreases, and fiber productivity and chain length increase. In a pulsed electric field, the fiber diameter is very small when the duty ratio is 70% and the chain length is long when the duty ratio is 100%. However, as the frequency increases, the fiber diameter decreases sharply, whereas the chain length increases gradually. When the fiber drops rapidly, the chain length generally becomes longer with increasing steps. The above knowledge of the fiber performance and spin factors will contribute significantly to obtain high-quality fibers using centrifugal melt electrospinning.