Enhanced Deposition Uniformity via an Auxiliary Electrode in Massive Electrospinning

Uniform deposition of nanofibers in the massive electrospinning process is critical in the industrial applications of nanofibers. Tip-Induced Electrospinning (TIE) is a cost-effective large-scale nanofiber-manufacturing method, but it has poor deposition uniformity. An auxiliary conductive electrode connected to the emitting electrode was introduced to improve the deposition uniformity of the nanofibers. The effects of the auxiliary electrode shape, the tilted angles and the position of the boat-like electrode on the electric field distribution, the diameter of the nanofibers, the jet control and the deposition uniformity were explored by using finite element analysis of the electric field and experiments. Experiments showed that the boat-like electrode at 20 mm above the reservoir bottom with a 5° tilted angle helped to decrease the relative deposition error of nanofibers in the greatest extent to about 5.66%, indicating such an auxiliary electrode is a good candidate method to greatly improve the deposition uniformity of nanofibers in massive electrospinning.