Comparative Study of Electrospinning Parameters for Production of Polylactic Acid and Polycaprolactone Nanofibers Based on Design of Experiment

Abstract

In terms of applications, the diameter of nanofibers is one of their most important characteristics. This size is influenced by various process parameters, such as: the concentration, the distance between the needle and the collector, volume flow, etc. In this study, we compared the average diameter of nanofibers made from two different polymers, polycaprolactone and polylactic acid.
We investigated the impact of various parameters on the production of nanofibers from polycaprolactone and polylactic acid using the electrospinning technique. We employed a factorial experiment design model to characterize this versatile and efficient fibre fabrication method. By considering the effects of voltage, concentration, distance between the pin and the collector, and flow rate, we established a mathematical model to describe the process. The diameters and morphologies of the resulting fibers were analyzed and compared to each other using SEM analysis. Our findings revealed that, among the studied parameters, concentration had the most significant impact on the diameter of the polymer fibers.