Showing 3 results for Electrospinning
Aysa Ghasemi Koozekonan, Mohammad Reza Monazzam Esmaeilpour, Saba Kalantary, Ali Karimi, Kamal Azam, Farideh Golbabaei,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (3-2021)
Abstract
Introduction: The skin, can be exposed to harmful factors like ultraviolet radiation (UV). Exposure to this physical hazardous agent could be contributed to pigmentation, erythemas, early aging, skin cancer, and DNA damage. The aim of this study, therefore, was to fabricate the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with the UV protection property by the use of various concentrations of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles.
Material and Methods: The PAN nanofibers (10%wt) containing 0, 1, 5, 10 and 15% wt of TiO2 nanoparticles were produced using electrospinning method. The morphological propertis of nanofibers were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the functional groups were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). The UV protection property of nanofibers was studied by measuring UV transmittance as well as calculating UV protection factor (UPF).
Results: The results showed that the diameter and morphological characteristics of nanofibers are different at various concentrations of TiO2 and increasing the concentration of TiO2 has resulted to an increase in nanofibers diameter. The analysis of FTIR results showed that TiO2 nanoparticles have been successfully loaded on nanofibers for UV protection purposes. The findings clarified that nanofibers loaded with TiO2 could increase the UV protection property up to 15%.
Conclusion: Totally, our findings show the successful fabrication of UV-protective nano webs using TiO2 nanoparticles. the new combination used in nano matcould protect employees from UV radiation.
Meghdad Kazemi, Saba Kalantari, Alireza Abbasi, Abbas Rahimi Foroushani, Hossein Mowlavi, Amir Hossein Montazemi, Farideh Golbabaei,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (3-2023)
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the manufacture of air purification media, especially nanofiber filters using polymeric materials and the electrospinning method, has received much attention in air pollution control. The production of high-performance media and low-pressure drops is an important issue in air filtration. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of fabricating electrospinning polyethylene terephthalate (PET) media to abduct submicron and micron particles from the air stream.
Material and Methods: To determine the optimal device conditions in the manufacture of PET media, different weight percentages of a PET polymer solution in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane solvents (70:30) were first prepared in a pilot study, and various parameters of the electrospinning device were examined and analyzed along with performing the electrospinning process. The surface and morphological characteristics of the media were evaluated using SEM. The pressure drop and efficiency of particle trapping were assessed using a mask and media pressure by a pressure drop test device.
Results: The optimal electrospinning conditions of the PET polymer solution were obtained at a concentration of 20%. The average diameter of nanofibers PET was 163 ± 600 nm with a pressure drop of 26.33 ± 5.5 pa, and average efficiencies of 97.42 ± 1.67% and 99.85 ± 0.21 were obtained for submicron and micron particles, respectively, with a quality factor (QF) value of 0.1740.
Conclusion: The produced media can abduct and remove particles from the air stream for submicron and micron particles in ranges of 96-99% and 99-100%, respectively, with an average pressure drop of 26.33±5.5 pa.
Adel Jafari, Farshid Ghorbani Shahna, Abdulrahman Bahrami, Majid Habibi Mohraz,
Volume 13, Issue 2 (6-2023)
Abstract
Introduction: With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of adequate protection by existing protective equipment, many researchers’ attention has turned to developing improved respiratory protection equipment. Considering their special properties and nanoscale dimensions, electrospun nanofibers are a suitable option for improving operational characteristics of substrates used in conventional facemasks. This study aimed to optimize the electrospinning process of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN) containing ZIF8 and use the optimized substrate in medical facemasks to increase their protective performance.
Material and Methods: This study employed an environmentally friendly method to synthesize ZIF8 in an aqueous environment. Then, PAN/ZIF8 polymer solutions were prepared in dimethylformamide. The effects of electrospinning parameters, including electrospinning voltage, polymer solution concentration, electrospinning distance, and polymer injection flow rate on diameter and uniformity of nanofibers were investigated. Electrospinning conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) to obtain desired values for response (dependent) variables. Finally, optimized PAN/ZIF8 and PAN nanofibers were electrospun on spun-bond substrate. Base weight, average diameter of fibers, filtration performance, pressure drop, and quality factor of fabricated substrates were assessed.
Results: According to results, optimal conditions for electrospinning of PAN/ZIF8 polymeric solution for polymer concentration (A), electrospinning voltage (B), electrospinning distance (C), and polymer injection flow rate (D) were respectively 70 w/v%, 20 kV, 18 cm, and 0.4 ml/h. Moreover, despite lower base weight of PAN/ZIF8 nanofiber mask, it displayed higher filtration performance (98.51%), lower pressure drop (31.42 Pa), and higher quality factor (0.140 Pa-1) in comparison to other studied masks.
Conclusion: Experimental models developed in this study provide acceptable values for filtration efficiency and quality factor for filtration applications. Additionally, they serve as a guideline for subsequent experiments to produce uniform and continuous nanofibers with desired diameter for future applications in absorbent media (intermediate absorbent layers) of respirators.
