Review of the Principles, Devices, Parameters, and Applications for Centrifugal Electrospinning

Nanofibers have received extensive attention in the fields of biomedicine, energy catalysis, environmental sciences, and filtration owing to their high specific surface area and controllable porosity. Electrospinning and centrifugal spinning are the two most effective methods for fabricating nanofibers. However, the low preparation efficiency of electrospinning limits the use of that technology in the large‐scale production of nanofibers. The morphology of nanofibers prepared by centrifugal spinning is slightly inferior to electrospinning. Centrifugal electrospinning has great industrial application potential. It is a new method for fabricating nanofibers formed by combining centrifugal and electrostatic forces. It can efficiently fabricate nanofibers with good alignment. In particular, the use of polymer melt as the spinning precursor for centrifugal electrospinning can effectively address the problem of solvent residue in the fiber. In this review, the working principle and device used for centrifugal electrospinning is introduced, the influence of different components of the spinning device on the spinning process is discussed, and the effects of spinning parameters on fiber properties are explained. Then, some applications of nanofibers fabricated are described by centrifugal electrospinning in various areas, including energy, biomedicine, and filtration. Finally, the challenges of centrifugal electrospinning are summarized, and a perspective on future research is provided. This study introduces the centrifugal electrospinning method, which has industrial application potential. The working principles, devices used, and parameters of centrifugal electrospinning are reviewed. Nanofibers prepared by centrifugal electrospinning are widely applied in fuel cells, solar cells, batteries and electronics, biomedicine, filtration, etc. Finally, the challenges and prospects are discussed.