Analysis of electrospinning bending region physics in determining fiber diameter: focus on mass transfer and effect of relative humidity for non-aqueous hydrophilic solutions

This paper analyzes the bending region of non-aqueous hydrophilic PVP/alcohol solutions, using a combined experimental and modeling approach. A major focus of this work is modeling the complex mass transport including solvent evaporation and water absorption, which is verified by evaporation experiments. The developed model captures the coupled mass and force balances in the bending region and predicts the final fiber diameter to within 8% of experimental measurements for three different PVP/alcohol solutions with significantly different properties. The model analysis reveals the effect that RH has on alcohol evaporation rate, which affects both net stretching force and jet length in determining the final fiber diameter.Accepted manuscrip