Effect of melt and solution electrospinning on the formation and structure of poly(vinylidene fluoride) fibres

Abstract

We investigated the effects of applied voltage and collector rotating speed on the crystal structure and piezoelectricity of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibres obtained by two electrospinning (ES) systems; laser-melt electrospinning (M-ES) and conventional solution electrospinning (S-ES). A higher β phase fraction was observed in the S-ES fibres, although the M-ES fibres showed comparable crystallinity. The piezoelectric constant (d₃₃) for the S-ES fibres was also higher than that of the M-ES fibres. This is the first report clarifying the difference between M-ES and S-ES for the formation of PVDF fibres.