GOALI: Fundamentals of Fabrication of Nanofiber Assemblies by Electrospinning

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The objective of this Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) research project is to continue the comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of electrospinning of polymer nanofibers with the emphasis now on the fabrication of nanofiber assemblies and the evaluation of their microstructure and properties. Electrospinning is an emerging technology producing polymer fibers in the diameter range from a few microns down to three nanometers. Previous collaborative research by the principal investigators has advanced the understanding of the process in a single jet regime, including a recent discovery and analysis of a hierarchical bending instability as a major mechanism of production of small diameter fibers. Potential industrial applications of the process require further development of methods of nanofiber placement and fabrication of nanofiber assemblies with controlled geometry, orientation, and properties. This research will provide a body of knowledge necessary for the development of robust, industrially relevant methods and devices for flexible and reproducible fabrication of large nanofiber assemblies with controlled geometry and microstructure. Development of better methods of fabrication of nanofibers and their useful assemblies will produce a considerable impact in the general area of nanostructured materials.In order to establish new technologies for the control of nanofiber placement, the research tasks will include experimental and theoretical analysis of the density distribution of jets in the cloud region of the process envelope. Under normal conditions, non-woven sheets with random fiber orientation are being produced. By taking into account the interactions of the segments of the jet with themselves and with the external field, electromechanical methods of placement of the nanofibers into controlled oriented and gradient assemblies will be explored. Microstructure and properties of these assemblies will be characterized and correlated with the process parameters. The research will be performed in close collaboration with the Donaldson Company, Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories, NIST, and SUNY Stony Brook/Brookhaven National Laboratory.