The effects of operating parameters on the fabrication of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers in electro-centrifuge spinning

Introduced recently, electro centrifuge is a new method for nanofiber production. In the electro-centrifuge method, fibers are produced by the simultaneous use of electrical and centrifugal forces. In this research, the effective parameters in the production of PAN nanofibers diameter and the influence of each of them have been discussed. These parameters are voltage, rotation speed, flow rate of exiting solution from nozzle and viscosity of solution. Also the capability of fiber production by this method is compared with the conventional electrospinning system. Results show that a significant enhancement can be achieved by proper adjustments of the polymer solution viscosity, applied voltage, and rotational velocity in fiber production rate. To exemplify, in a PAN polymer solution, the increased production rate of electro centrifuge varied from 193 to 1200 percent, as compared with a similar electrospinning method in which the polymer concentration and applied voltage varied in a range of 13 to 16 wt% and 15 to 10 kV, respectively.