Effects of ionic carriers on the morphological properties of electrospun nanofibres

Electrospinning is a straightforward and inexpensive process that produces continuous nanofibres from polymer solutions. The characteristics of the electrospinning process are mainly governed by the surface charge of the polymer solution which ultimately determines the fibre morphology and diameter. The charge density at the fluid surface is greatly influenced by the ionic carriers that present in the polymer solution. Therefore, in this paper, we discuss the effects of ionic carriers on the electrospinning process and hence the fibre morphology by changing the type of ions and their concentration using polyethylene oxide and polyacrylic acid solutions. The type of ions in the polymer solutions is altered by using different salts that include LiCl, NaCl, NaF, NaHCO₃, KCl, and CsCl.