Mass production method could open up nano-fibre applications

In a paper published online in Advanced Materials, the NC State researchers and colleagues from industry, including NC State start-up company Xanofi, describe the method that allows them to fabricate polymer nanofibres on a massive scale.

The method – fine-tuned after nearly a decade of increasing success in producing micro- and nanoparticles of different shapes – works as simply as dropping liquid solution of a polymer in a beaker containing a spinning cylinder.

Glycerin is used to shear the polymer solution inside the beaker along with an anti-solvent like water. When you take out the rotating cylinder, said Dr. Orlin Velev, Invista Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper describing the research, you find a mat of nanofibres wrapped around it.

When they first started investigating the liquid shearing process, the researchers created polymer microrods, which could have various useful applications in foams and consumer products.