Effect of Process Parameters on Poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate) Nanofibers Development by Electrospinning Technique

Abstract

Electrospinning process is proved to be one of the finest fabrication techniques to produce nanofibers. This research deals with the experimental study on the effect of various process parameters of electrospinning technique such as voltage, flow rate, distance (nozzle to collector distance) and concentration, on the development of nanofibers from a new polymer, namely PBAT. Taguchis experimental design was implemented to carry out this research by conducting an L-18 orthogonal array. Taguchi method and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to examine the effect of different process parameters simultaneously on the fabrication of nanofibers. The fibers were characterized through scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the measurement of its diameter. The experimental results indicate that all the chosen process parameters had significant influence on the fiber diameter. It was inferred that the concentration and voltage had a very notable impact on the fiber diameter. Confirmation experimental run was performed on the identified optimal setting of the process parameters.