Centrifugal Spinning—High Rate Production of Nanofibers

Abstract

Abstract Nanofibers have attracted tremendous attention due to their flexibility, large surface area, and ease of modification, and they have been widely utilized in different applications such as filtration, tissue engineering, drug delivery, protective clothing, energy storage, etc. At this writing, the most commonly used method to produce nanofibers is electrospinning. However, the utilization of a high-voltage setup and the low production rate have become barriers to its use in large scale. Centrifugal spinning is an efficient approach to producing nanofibers from various materials. During centrifugal spinning, the polymer solution or polymer melt is ejected out of the rotating spinning head, and when the centrifugal force overcomes the surface tension of the polymer liquid material, the polymer jet undergoes a stretching process and is eventually deposited on the collector, forming solidified nanofibers. This chapter gives an overview of the history, working mechanism, influential parameters, and various applications of the centrifugal spinning method.