Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the electrospinning process is very complex. The jet, for instance, onlyfollows a direct path towards the counter electrode for a certaindistance,butthenchangesitsappearancesignificantly. The jet is moved laterally and forms a series of coils, the envelopeofwhichhastheformofaconeopeningtowardsthe counter electrode (Figure 7).[36,37]On occasion, beads, rather than fibers, are formed during electrospinning; fibers with beads arranged like pearls on astring can also be formed. In some cases, the fibers are not round,butareflat ribbons, andinothercases,thedistribution of fiber diameters is broad (Figure 8). The shapes anddimensions of the fibers formed depend on a large set of parameters, for example, the properties of the polymer itself (such as molecular weight, molecular-weight distribution, glass-transition temperature, and solubility), as well the properties of the polymer solution (such as viscosity, viscoelasticity, concentration, surface tension, and electrical conductivity). The vapor pressure of the solvent and the relative humidity of the surroundings can also have a significant impact. Furthermore, the properties of the substrate, the feed rateofthesolution,andthefieldstrengthandgeometryofthe electrodes(andtherefore,theformoftheelectricfield)playa major role in fiber formation.2.2. Theoretical BackgroundAs mentioned above, the electrospinning process is very intricate: it can be described as the interaction of several physical instability processes.[36–39] This intricacy is not astounding, considering that a liquid strand (solution or melt)undergoescomplexstructure-formingprocessesevenin absence of an electric field; the strand is subjected to the socalled Rayleigh instability.[40–43] The final state is a periodic pearl-necklace arrangement of drops of a given radius (Figure 9). During electrospinning, other instabilities are induced by the coupling of the liquid strand with the electric field (throughthefield-inducedtransportofchargesintotheliquid strand), in particular, the so-called axisymmetrical instability and the bending (or whipping) instability.[36–39] Inthecaseofthecharge-drivenaxisymmetricalinstability, a statistical variance of the jet*s radius causes a modulation of thesurfacechargedensity.Thismodulation,inturn,generates tangential forces, which couple to the radius modulation and amplify it. The end result of such a coupling loop is the formation of beads, which are aligned along the fiber likeFigure 5. A droplet of a 5% solution of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in water, dyed with fluorescein: A) in the absence of an applied voltage; B) at an applied voltage of 20 kV, with a jet perpendicular to the counter electrode; C) at an applied voltage of 20 kV, with a jet diagonal to the counter electrode.Figure 6. Left: SEM image of fibers of polyamide (PA) produced by melt electrospinning. Right: Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of fibers
Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the electrospinning process is very complex. The jet, for instance, only<br>follows a direct path towards the counter electrode for a certaindistance,butthenchangesitsappearancesignificantly. The jet is moved laterally and forms a series of coils, the envelopeofwhichhastheformofaconeopeningtowardsthe counter electrode (Figure 7).[36,37]<br>On occasion, beads, rather than fibers, are formed during electrospinning; fibers with beads arranged like pearls on a<br>string can also be formed. In some cases, the fibers are not round,butareflat ribbons, andinothercases,thedistribution of fiber diameters is broad (Figure 8). The shapes and<br>dimensions of the fibers formed depend on a large set of parameters, for example, the properties of the polymer itself (such as molecular weight, molecular-weight distribution, glass-transition temperature, and solubility), as well the properties of the polymer solution (such as viscosity, viscoelasticity, concentration, surface tension, and electrical conductivity). The vapor pressure of the solvent and the relative humidity of the surroundings can also have a significant impact. Furthermore, the properties of the substrate, the feed rateofthesolution,andthefieldstrengthandgeometryofthe electrodes(andtherefore,theformoftheelectricfield)playa major role in fiber formation.<br>2.2. Theoretical Background<br>As mentioned above, the electrospinning process is very intricate: it can be described as the interaction of several physical instability processes.[36–39] This intricacy is not astounding, considering that a liquid strand (solution or melt)undergoescomplexstructure-formingprocessesevenin absence of an electric field; the strand is subjected to the socalled Rayleigh instability.[40–43] The final state is a periodic pearl-necklace arrangement of drops of a given radius (Figure 9). During electrospinning, other instabilities are induced by the coupling of the liquid strand with the electric field (throughthefield-inducedtransportofchargesintotheliquid strand), in particular, the so-called axisymmetrical instability and the bending (or whipping) instability.[36–39] Inthecaseofthecharge-drivenaxisymmetricalinstability, a statistical variance of the jet*s radius causes a modulation of thesurfacechargedensity.Thismodulation,inturn,generates tangential forces, which couple to the radius modulation and amplify it. The end result of such a coupling loop is the formation of beads, which are aligned along the fiber like<br>Figure 5. A droplet of a 5% solution of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in water, dyed with fluorescein: A) in the absence of an applied voltage; B) at an applied voltage of 20 kV, with a jet perpendicular to the counter electrode; C) at an applied voltage of 20 kV, with a jet diagonal to the counter electrode.<br>Figure 6. Left: SEM image of fibers of polyamide (PA) produced by melt electrospinning. Right: Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of fibers
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