Hi, dear researchers,
I tried gelatin electrospinning using acetic and citric acids (50% acid solutions). But I wonder acetic acid is providing smooth nanofibers while citric acid (being similar carboxylic acid) is not providing any fiber formation.
Thanks in advance!
Hi!
Probably, since you used stronger citric acid it destroyed fibers formation and weaker acetic acid showed less effect.
Good luck!
Hi,
apart from the different acidity, acetic acid has a much higher volatility. So it probably evaporates more easily during electrospinning favoring the fiber formation, whereas citric acid does not (boiling point 310 °C).
Dear researchers, thank you for your considerations.
Any explanation with respect to basic chemistry, or structural variations of both acids...?
As far as I have understood electrospinning, It is a process that converts visco-elastic solutions to nanofibres. As a result of that, the fibers produced thus tend to be amorphous in nature. Note that, citric acid has crystalline property, which will hinder with the fiber forming capacity of the solution. The nucleation sites are set free in the solution for it to crystallize. Hence, highly volatile liquid substitute like acetic acid could produce nanofibres since it does not promote crystalline structures.
If your aim is to produce nanofibres with a citric acid solvent, I would personally advise you to increase the concentration of gelatin in the solution or decrease the citric acid concentration. You can also try blending a more amorphous polymer with it.
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