A novel XYZ electrospinning that orients the trajectory and collimates the electrified fluid jet of polymer nanofibers by induced electric fields

by Víctor García-Limón, Oscar E. Aguilar-Mejía, Hector Reyes-Cruz, Ernesto Suaste-Gómez

Electrospinning is a process in which high voltage creates nanostructured fibers with random orientation from a polymer solution. A novel electrospinning instrument was designed and constructed, capable of orienting and collimating the trajectory of the electrified fluid jet. The equipment collimates and adjusts the electrified fluid jet in the X-Y directions using deflector plates connected to a variable electric field. Simultaneously, different membrane thicknesses can be selected, i.e., in the Z direction. Additionally, by programming the sinusoidal function generator to perform an X-Y sweep, Lissajous figures (LF) were obtained. SEM images obtained through XYZ electrospinning of PVC and PVDF membranes were used to determine the control achieved over the orientation distribution of the processed nanofibers and the modification of their diameter, with and without applying the electric field to the deflector plates. The nanofibers obtained from the polymeric membranes, which originated after the straight segment of the Taylor cone, did not exhibit a random trajectory and position. Instead, the collimated electrified fluid jet deposited them in a cross pattern (X-Y) on the collector-cathode plate.