Electrospinning Polyethylene Oxide Nanofibers

Electrospinning of polymeric solutions has gained much interest due to the ability of this process to consistently fabricate nanoscale fibers (<100 nanometers in diameter.) In this research, Polyethylene oxide (PEO) magnetic nanofibers were electrospun for possible use in anti-counterfeiting applications. The goal of this research is to optimize the electrospinning of PEO magnetic nanofibers, and characterize the fibers and nanoparticle dispersion therein. To optimize the electrospinning process, operating diagrams distinguishing regions of electrostatic stability were constructed from experimental data for three different solutions: PEO/water, PEO and NaBr/water, and a PEO/water solution with suspended magnetite nanoparticles. Comparison of different electric fields and flow rates yielded optimal parameters to electrospin PEO nanofibers. Analysis of the nanofibers via Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy provided information on fiber morphology as well as nanoparticle distribution within the fiber. Future work aims to further characterize the nanofibers via energy dispersive spectroscopy x-ray microanalysis (EDS), as well as study and manipulate the magnetic properties of the fibers.