Hi all,
I've been using a blend of chitosan and PEO (dissolved in aqueous acetic acid) to produce electrospun nanofibers. Whilst I am able to produce bead-free nanofibers, I often see the formation of droplets on the nanofiber mats. Using SEM, you can see areas where the droplets have dissolved the nanofibers. I have tried different polymer concentrations, polymer ratios, solvent concentrations, tip-to-collector distances, voltages and flow rates, but nothing seems to stop the droplets from forming. Is this because of the humidity of the environment, or could other factors be involved? Thanks!
As a rule, the reason for droplets' formation is high surface tension, that's why the chitosan/PEO blends should be dissolved in strong acetic acid. What parameter values and solutions have you tried?
And, yes, high humidity may also cause droplets' formation. You may find this article useful: Article The impact of relative humidity during electrospinning on th...
I presume that you can also try to increase the tip-collector distance. In my personal practice, I use a distance of 20 cm or more.
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