Orthogonal design study on factors effecting on fibers diameter of melt electrospinning

Abstract Melt electrospinning is a much more simple and safe method to produce ultra fine fibers than solution electrospinning. The diameters of melt electrospinning fibers are thicker. To find the factors that affect the fibers diameter in melt electrospinning, orthogonal design was used to examine melt temperature, spinning voltage, spinning distance, and melt flow rate (MFR) of polymer. Results showed that MFR at present three levels has the most important impact both on the average diameters and standard deviations of fiber diameters. The scanning electron microscopy pictures show that all the fibers have smooth surface, which means the melt electrospinning fibers have good mechanical properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:2074–2078, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers