Nanomanufacturing Using Electrospinning

Electrospinning has become a popular technique for fabricating nanofibers from a variety of materials and has been tailored for a multitude of applications. These nanofibers may be used as devices (e.g., biosensors, field effect transistors (FETs), and resonators) or may be used to fabricate nanoscale features in other materials. Several methods for controlling the orientation of deposited fibers have been demonstrated, including linear and rotary mechanical motion, using prepatterned electrodes on a substrate to attract the fibers, and using electric fields to alter the path of the electrospinning jet in-flight. Electrospinning systems employing more complex tip geometries have been investigated. Several techniques have been developed to overcome the problem of low mass throughput, including using large arrays of electrospinning tips fed by the same solution and various tipless electrospinning techniques. The electrospinning tip has also been modified to produce either side-by-side or coaxial multicomponent fibers and tubes. The mechanism by which the fluid jet solidifies into fibers has also been varied, and though most electrospinning experiments still rely upon in-flight solvent evaporation for solidification, melt electrospinning and in-flight polymerization have also been investigated. This article will review recent developments in electrospinning techniques and applications.