Multijet motion and deviation in electrospinning

Abstract

The electric field plays a key role in the electrospinning process. The electrospinning process is governed by the electric field caused by the applied voltage between the spinneret and the collector. In the present work, a comprehensive analysis was carried out to investigate the effect of the electric field on jet behavior in the multijet electrospinning process. Two multijet electrospinning systems were involved in this study. High-speed photography was adopted to capture the jet motion, and numerical simulation was used to understand the electric field distribution. The characteristics of jet behavior were described with five parameters: the straight jet length of the central jet, the straight jet length of the outer jet, the envelope cone of the central jet, the envelope cone of the outer jet, and the deviation angle of the outer jet. It was observed that all the parameters are influenced by the applied voltage and induced electric field distribution. It was found that the shape and strength of the electric field are the two factors responsible for the jet behavior in the multijet electrospinning system.