The effect of processing parameters on the diameter of electrospun polyacrylonitrile(PAN) nano fibers

The electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile dissolved in N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) successfully produced nano- scale fibers. The processing parameters such as charged voltage, velocity of collected roller, and tip-to-collector distance (TCD), affected the ultimate fiber size. At TCD of 5 cm, the average fiber diameter increased with increasing charged voltage because of the more aggregation between fibers due t o the remaining DMF solvent on the fiber surface. But, at TCD of 9 cm, the average fiber diameter decreased as the charged voltage was increased because of complete evaporation of DMF. Also, the fiber diameter decreased with increasing the velocity of collected roller. Cross direction width (CWD) of non-woven mat increased with decreasing the charged voltage and with increasing TCD.