Precision deposition of a nanofibre by near-field electrospinning

The deposition behaviour of an individual nanofibre on planar and patterned silicon substrates is studied using near-field electrospinning (NFES). A high-speed camera was utilized to investigate the formation and motion process of a liquid jet. Thanks to the shorter distance from the spinneret to the collector, bending instability and splitting of the charged jet in electrospinning were overcome. In NFES, a straight-line jet between the spinneret and the collector can be utilized to direct-write an orderly nanofibre. Perturbation stemming from residual charges on the collector caused the oscillation of the charged jet, and the deposition of the non-woven nanofibre on the planar substrate. With increasing collector speed, the impact of residual charges was weakened by the strong drag force from the collector and a straight-line nanofibre could be obtained. In addition, the nanofibre can be direct-written in a special pattern by controlling the motion track of the collector. Therefore, it can be concluded that a micro-strip pattern was a good guidance for nanofibre deposition, and the nanofibre deposition track followed well along the top surface of the micro-strip pattern. The position-controlled deposition of a single nanofibre provides a new aspect for applications of electrospinning.