The word "electrospinning" comes from "electrospinning" or the earlier "electrostatic spinning". It is generally referred to as "electrospinning", "electrospinning", etc. in China. In 1934, Formalas invented an experimental device for preparing polymer fibers using electrostatic force and applied for a patent. His patent disclosed how a polymer solution forms a jet between electrodes. This was the first patent to describe in detail the use of high-voltage electrostatic force to prepare fiber devices. It is recognized as the beginning of fiber preparation by electrospinning technology. However, from a scientific basis, this invention can be regarded as a special case of electrostatic atomization or electrospray, the concept of which dates back to 1745. The biggest difference between electrostatic atomization and electrospinning is that they use different working media. Electrostatic atomization uses low-viscosity Newtonian fluid, while electrospinning uses higher-viscosity non-Newtonian fluid. In this way, the research on electrostatic atomization technology also provides a certain theoretical basis and foundation for the electrospinning system. In-depth research on the electrospinning process involves electrostatics, electrohydrodynamics, rheology, aerodynamics and other fields.
From the 1930s to the 1980s, the development of electrospinning technology was relatively slow. Most scientific researchers focused on the research of electrospinning devices and issued a series of patents, but it has not attracted widespread attention. . In the 1990s, the Reneker research group at the University of Akron in the United States conducted in-depth and extensive research on electrospinning technology and applications. Especially in recent years, with the development of nanotechnology, electrospinning technology has developed rapidly, and scientific research communities and industries around the world have shown great interest in this technology. During this period, the development of electrospinning technology has roughly gone through four stages: the first stage mainly studies the spinnability of different polymers and the impact of process parameters on fiber diameter and performance during the spinning process, as well as the optimization of process parameters; The second stage mainly studies the diversification of electrospun nanofiber components and the fine control of structure; the third stage mainly studies the application of electrospun fibers in the fields of energy, environment, biomedicine, optoelectronics and other fields; the fourth stage mainly studies electrospun fibers mass manufacturing issues. The above four stages blend with each other and have no obvious boundaries. With the development of nanotechnology, electrospinning, as a simple and effective new processing technology that can produce nanofibers, will play a huge role in biomedical materials, filtration and protection, catalysis, energy, optoelectronics, food engineering, cosmetics and other fields. .
① In the field of biomedicine, the diameter of nanofibers is smaller than that of cells and can simulate the structure and biological functions of the natural extracellular matrix; most human tissues and organs are similar to nanofibers in form and structure. This provides the possibility for nanofibers to be used for tissue and organ repair; some electrospun raw materials have good biocompatibility and degradability, can be used as carriers to enter the human body, and are easily absorbed; in addition, electrospun nanofibers also have Due to its large specific surface area, porosity and other excellent properties, it has attracted continued attention from researchers in the biomedical field and has been well used in controlled drug release, wound repair, biological tissue engineering, etc.
②The filtration efficiency of fiber filter materials will increase as the fiber diameter decreases. Therefore, reducing the fiber diameter has become an effective method to improve the filtration performance of fiber filter materials. In addition to small diameter, electrospun fibers also have the advantages of small pore size, high porosity, and good fiber uniformity, which make them show great application potential in the fields of gas filtration, liquid filtration, and personal protection.
③ Electrospun fibers can effectively regulate the fine structure of the fiber, and combined with low surface energy substances, materials with super-hydrophobic properties can be obtained, and are expected to be used in the outer shell of ships, the inner wall of oil pipelines, and high-rise glass , automotive glass, etc. However, if electrospun fiber materials are to be used in the above-mentioned self-cleaning fields, their strength, wear resistance, and bonding fastness between fiber membrane materials and matrix materials must be improved.
④Catalyst particles with nanostructures are easy to agglomerate, thus affecting their dispersion and utilization. Therefore, electrospun fiber materials can be used as templates to achieve uniform dispersion, and can also take advantage of the flexibility of the polymer carrier. In addition, the surface composite of catalytic materials and polymers with micro- and nano-sized dimensions can also be used to produce a strong synergistic effect and improve catalytic efficiency.
⑤ Electrospun nanofibers have high specific surface area and porosity, which can increase the interaction area between sensing materials and detected objects, and are expected to greatly improve sensor performance. In addition, electrospun nanofibers can also be used in energy, optoelectronics, food engineering and other fields. Electrospinning technology has played a very important role in the field of constructing one-dimensional nanostructured materials. Nanofiber materials with various structures have been successfully prepared using electrospinning technology. Through different preparation methods, such as changing the nozzle structure, controlling experimental conditions, etc., solid, hollow, core-shell structure ultrafine fibers or spider web-like structure two-dimensional fiber membranes can be obtained; by designing different collection devices, it can Obtain single fibers, fiber bundles, highly oriented fibers or randomly oriented fiber films, etc. However, electrospinning technology still faces some challenges in regulating fiber structure: First, in order to realize the industrial application of electrospun fibers, it is necessary to obtain nanofiber bundles similar to short fibers or continuous ones. The preparation of oriented fibers is to solve this problem. It provides an effective way, but there is still a long way to go before the goal. Future work will try to straighten and align the fibers as much as possible by improving the nozzle, receiving device and adding auxiliary electrodes to obtain oriented fibers with excellent comprehensive properties. array. Secondly, as a brand-new research field of electrospun nanofibers, the research on nano-spider webs is still in its early stages, and the theoretical analysis and model establishment of the formation process of nano-spider webs require in-depth research. In addition, in order to improve the application performance of electrospun fiber membranes in the field of ultra-fine filtration, the diameter of the fibers must be reduced. How to reduce the average fiber diameter to less than 20nm is a challenge faced by electrospinning technology; in order to improve the performance of fibers in sensors For application performance in fields such as catalysis and catalysis, it is an effective method to increase the specific surface area of ??fibers by preparing nanofibers with porous or hollow structures, but further research is still needed.