Electrospinning is a versatile and viable technique for generating ultrathin fibers. Remarkable progress has been made with regard to the development of electrospinning methods and engineering of electrospun nanofibers to suit or enable various applications. We aim to provide a comprehensive overview of electrospinning, including the principle, methods, materials, and applications. We begin with a brief introduction to the early history of electrospinning, followed by discussion of its principle and typical apparatus. We then discuss its renaissance over the past two decades as a powerful technology for the production of nanofibers with diversified compositions, structures, and properties. Afterward, we discuss the applications of electrospun nanofibers, including their use as "smart" mats, filtration membranes, catalytic supports, energy harvesting/conversion/storage components, and photonic and electronic devices, as well as biomedical scaffolds. We highlight the most relevant and recent advances related to the applications of electrospun nanofibers by focusing on the most representative examples. We also offer perspectives on the challenges, opportunities, and new directions for future development. At the end, we discuss approaches to the scale-up production of electrospun nanofibers and briefly discuss various types of commercial products based on electrospun nanofibers that have found widespread use in our everyday life.

Electrospinning and Electrospun Nanofibers: Methods, Materials, and Applications

Interpretation of X-ray Powder Diffraction Patterns . By H. Lipson and H. Steeple. Pp. viii + 335 + 3 plates. (Mac-millan: London; St Martins Press: New York, May 1970.) £4.

X-Ray Diffraction

In this paper, the recent developments and the characteristics of membrane separators for lithium-ion batteries are reviewed. In recent years, there have been intensive efforts to develop advanced battery separators for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for different applications such as portable electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage for power grids. The separator is a critical component of lithium-ion batteries since it provides a physical barrier between the positive and negative electrodes in order to prevent electrical short circuits. The separator also serves as the electrolyte reservoir for the transport of ions during the charging and discharging cycles of a battery. The performance of lithium-ion batteries is greatly affected by the materials and structure of the separators. This paper introduces the requirements of battery separators and the structure and properties of five important types of membrane separators which are microporous membranes, modified microporous membranes, non-woven mats, composite membranes and electrolyte membranes. Each separator type has inherent advantages and disadvantages which influence the performance of lithium-ion batteries. The structures, characteristics, manufacturing, modification, and performance of separators are described in this review paper. The outlook and future directions in this research field are also given.

A review of recent developments in membrane separators for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

Recent advances in shape–memory polymers: Structure, mechanism, functionality, modeling and applications

Recent progress in shape memory polymer: New behavior, enabling materials, and mechanistic understanding

Electrospun hydrophilic fumed silica/polyacrylonitrile nanofiber-based composite electrolyte membranes

Review of conventional and novel polymerization processes for polyesters

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/app.46265

Recent advances in core/shell bicomponent fibers and nanofibers: A review

Influence des substituants Cl, Br, C 6 H 5 et C 6 H 13 sur la temperature de transition de ces polymeres

Nematogenic polymers having rigid chains. 1. Substituted poly(p-phenylene terephthalates)

Porous nylon-6 fibers are obtained from Lewis acid-base complexation of gallium trichloride (GaCl3) and nylon-6 using electrospinning followed by GaCl3 removal. DSC and FTIR results reveal that the electrospun fibers, prior to GaCl3 removal, are amorphous with no hydrogen bonds present between nylon-6 chains. GaCl3 being a Lewis acid interacts with the Lewis base sites (CdO groups) on the nylon-6 chains, thereby preventing the chains to crystallize via intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Subsequent removal of GaCl3 from the as-spun fibers by soaking the electrospun web in water for 24 h leads to the formation of pores throughout the fibers. While the average fiber diameter remains effectively the same after salt removal, the average surface area increases by more than a factor of 6 for the regenerated fibers. The dual use of a metal salt (Lewis acid) to (a) facilitate fiber formation by temporary removal of polymer interchain interactions and (b) act as a porogen provides a facile approach to obtain porous fibers via electrospinning.

Richard Kotek

Papers

Electrospun hydrophilic fumed silica/polyacrylonitrile nanofiber-based composite electrolyte membranes

Review of conventional and novel polymerization processes for polyesters

Recent advances in core/shell bicomponent fibers and nanofibers: A review

Nematogenic polymers having rigid chains. 1. Substituted poly(p-phenylene terephthalates)

Porous Nylon-6 Fibers via a Novel Salt-Induced Electrospinning Method