Factors Influencing Diameter of Polypropylene Fiber in Melt Electrospinning

Melt electrospinning is a safer, more environmentally friendly and cheaper alternative to solution electrospinning in producing superfine fibers. In this paper, a novel melt electrospinning device was used, which has higher efficiency than conventional equipment. Polypropylene is widely used in many fields and it is difficult to find a suitable solvent for its solution electrospinning at room temperature, so it was chosen in this study. The influences of the electrospinning parameters such as temperature and voltage on the diameter of the spinning fibers have been studied. Temperatures higher than normal processing temperatures were used in present electrospinning system in order to reduce the viscosity of the polymer melt sufficiently. Good quality fibers with smooth surfaces and with diameters mostly smaller than 10 microns were spun successfully. It was found that there was an optimum point for the spinning voltage (70-80KV) and the temperature (230-260°C) to get fine fibers.