Towards Analysis and Optimization of Electrospun PVP (Polyvinylpyrrolidone) Nanofibers

Utkarsh Utkarsh,Hussien Hegab,Ghaus Rizvi,Muhammad Tariq,Nabeel Ahmed Syed,Remon Pop-Iliev

doi:10.1155/2020/4090747

Abstract

In this study, the polymeric nanofibers of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were manufactured using the electrospinning technique. The electrospinning process parameters such as voltage, polymer concentration, rotational speed of the collecting drum, collecting distance, and flow rate were optimized to obtain the minimum fiber diameter for sound absorption applications. The effects of these parameters on the fiber diameter as output responses were investigated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Taguchi’s array design. Furthermore, a mathematical model was generated using response surface methodology (RSM) to model the electrospinning process. The high voltage and polymer concentration were observed to be the most significant parameters at 95% and 99% confidence level. The average model accuracy of 83.4% was observed for the predictive model of electrospinning which is considered acceptable as it is composed of complete experimental trials of 27 out of 243 runs. The experimental study offers a promising attempt in the open literature to carefully understand the effect of various electrospinning parameters when producing PVP nanofibers.

Highlights

Electrospinning is a well-established and straightforward method of manufacturing nanofibers from different materials like polymers, ceramics, and metals
The nanosized fiber diameter values were observed from the experimental results providing an advantage of exhibiting high surface area to volume ratio that is very beneficial for sound absorption characteristics of a nanofiberbased membrane
The least fiber diameter value was observed at the experimental run no. 19 that resulted in a diameter value of 536 nm at a polymer concentration of 8 wt%, an applied voltage of 15 kV, a 500 collector RPM, a 10 cm collecting distance, and a low flow rate of 0.6 ml/h

Summary

Introduction

Electrospinning is a well-established and straightforward method of manufacturing nanofibers from different materials like polymers, ceramics, and metals. The electrospun nanofiber produced from this technique offers exceptional properties like high surface area to volume ratio, flexibility, high porosity, and better aspect ratio which makes it suitable for various industrial applications. These applications include tissue engineering, filtration, medical and personal care, sensors, sound absorption, energy harvesting, and storage [3, 4]. The conical droplet at this point crosses the surface tension with increasing electric field, and the charged polymer jet extrudes out in the form of fibers due to the generated electrostatic force. The thin stretched fibers travel faster towards the collector end due to the opposite charge and are accumulated on it in the form of fiber webs [5,6,7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion