Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Mats Produced by Solution Blow Spinning: Influence of Process Parameters on Fiber...

This study reports on the fabrication of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats by solution blow spinning. A fabrication protocol is presented together with a comprehensive investigation of how key process parameters (polymer solution concentration, air pressure, and solution flow rate) affect the residual solvent content and the diameter of the resulting nanofibers. The following dependencies were identified: increasing solution concentration leads to larger fiber diameters, whereas increasing air pressure and decreasing solution flow rate both result in smaller diameters. The residual solvent content exhibits a non-linear dependence on the process parameters with an expressed minimum. The number-average diameter of the nanofibers ranges from 428 to 221 nm. Regression analysis confirmed the statistical significance of the effects of the studied factors on fiber diameter, and the fact that the calculated value of the Fisher criterion is lower than the critical tabulated value indicates that the proposed model is adequate. The determination coefficient of 0.85 demonstrates a high degree of consistency between the model and the experimental data.