ELECTROSPINNING PROCESS AND RESULTING NANOFIBERS

iii Solution viscosity, solution conductivity, applied voltage, distance from tip to collector, atmospheric pressure, surrounding humidity, and volumetric flow rate, all affect the electrospinning process and resulting fibers. Investigation of the effect of these parameters can lead to a comprehensive understanding of electrospinning, that helps us to manipulate the morphology of the resulting fibers. Two main topics were investigated in this work. One is the effect of the solution conductivity. The other is the influence of the applied voltage. Potential applications of the collected fibers are considered. By increasing the salt (lithium chloride) concentration of the solution, the conductivity of the solution becomes higher. The resulting electrospun products varied from separate particles to beaded fibers to smooth fibers, with the increase of the concentration of ions from the dissolved salt. A new, reproducible phenomenon associated with the bending instability was observed by adding salt and adjusting th