Experimental study on electrospun polyvinyl butyral nanofibers using a non-solvent system

The effect of the non-solvent spinning performance of nanofibers has not yet been clearly explained. To clarify this, nanofiber membranes were prepared using the roller electrospinning technique from polyvinyl butyral (PVB) solutions containing ethanol as a solvent and water as a non-solvent. A Hansen solubility graph was drawn to evaluate the non-solvent and solvent systems. The relationships among the presence of non-solvent additives, the properties of spinning solutions (viscosity, conductivity, and surface tension), current per one Taylor cone, spinning performance of fiber membranes and fiber morphology were studied. The experimental results of this work showed that the non-solvent system had positive effects on fiber diameter and web surface, resulting in a low diameter and bead-free surface, while also decreasing spinning performance.