CENTRIFUGAL SPINNINGdHIGH RATE PRODUCTION OF NANOFIBERS

Nanofifibers are one of the most promising nanomaterials because of their flflexibility, large surface area, and ease of modifification (Li and Xia, 2004; McCann et al., 2005). Owing to their superior properties, nanofifibers have played important roles in different applications such as fifiltration, tissue engineering, drug delivery, protective clothing, energy storage, etc. (Zhang and Lu, 2014). At this writing, electrospinning is the most commonly used method for fabricating nanofifibers. However, widespread industrial utilization of electrospinning is limited mainly by its low production rate and high-voltage setup requirement. In addition to electrospinning, other alternative nanofifiber production methods have also been investigated, such as melt blowing, bicomponent fifiber spinning, phase separation, template synthesis, and self-assembly (Yang and Xu, 2007; Ikegame et al., 2003; Guo et al., 2013; Ellison et al., 2007). However, practical implementations of these complex methods are hindered because they typically work with limited types of materials.

In recent years, centrifugal spinning has been introduced as an effificient approach to producing nanofifibers from various materials because it can eliminate some drawbacks of electrospinning, such as low production rate and high-voltage setup requirement. In centrifugal spinning, the liquid raw material is ejected out of the rotating spinning head, and when the centrifugal force overcomes the surface tension of the material, the jet undergoes a stretching process and is eventually deposited on the collector, forming solidifified nanofifibers. In this chapter, a brief history of centrifugal spinning is introduced, followed by a discussion on the fifiber formation process during centrifugal spinning, the technical details of the centrifugal spinning system, and the possible types of fifibers that can be fabricated via centrifugal spinning technology. This chapter will also address the processing-structure-performance relationships, discuss potential applications of the centrifugally spun fifibers, and introduce brief information about the recently emerged electrocentrifugal spinning method.

Schematic of the spinning process used by Weitz et al. and scanning electron microscopy images of the resultant polymethylmethacrylate nanofifibers.

Paper link：https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780323512701/electrospinning-nanofabrication-and-applications