Influence of Salts on Electrospinning of Aqueous and Nonaqueous Polymer Solutions

A roller electrospinning system was used to produce nanofibres by using different solution systems. Although the process of electrospinning has been known for over half a century, knowledge about spinning behaviour is still lacking. In this work, we investigated the effects of salt for two solution systems on spinning performance, fibre diameter, and web structure. Polyurethane (PU) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were used as polymer, and tetraethylammonium bromide and lithium chloride were used as salt. Both polymer and salt concentrations had a noteworthy influence on the spinning performance, morphology, and diameter of the nanofibres. Results indicated that adding salt increased the spinnability of PU. Salt created complex bonding with dimethylformamide solvent and PU polymer. Salt added to PEO solution decreased the spinning performance of fibres while creating thin nanofibres, as explained by the leaky dielectric model.