Rotating-disk electrospinning: needleless electrospinning of poly(caprolactone), poly(lactic acid) and poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofiber mats with controlled morphology

Abstract

As a contribution to the feasibility of high-throughput electrospinning, here we report on the investigation into the production of polymer nanofiber mats through needleless electrospinning. For this study, we used poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), widely used polymers in the field of electrospinning. Optimization studies were carried out to devise the characteristics of the rotating-disk electrospinning system in order to assess the processing window for each polymer. Other factors were also considered, where the production rate, fiber size distribution, and morphology of the specimens acquired by rotating-disk electrospinning and conventional electrospinning techniques were compared. Our studies also illustrate the similarities of this novel “bottom-up” process compared to the conventional one, where a high resolution image confirmed the formation of a cone-jet structure and a Taylor Cone.