Producing PVP Nanofibers by Electrospinning in N<sub>2</sub>

Electrospinning combined with nonsolvent-induced phase separation is a simple and novel method to produce porous nanofibers. In the study, Poly (vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) nanofibers were fabricated using an electrospinning approach complemented by compressed nitrogen (N). N2 was used as the nonsolvent of choice. Besides, the tun 2 ning of N 2 pressure and temperature can impact the nanofibers’ morphologies by altering phase behavior and mass transfer. Also, the other parameters affecting electrospinning of polymer solution were discussed. The results were demonstrated by extending the technique to PVP/dichloromethane (DCM) and PVP/ethanol (EtOH) systems. And the binary phase equilibrium of solvents (dichloromethane or ethanol) and N simulated by ASPEN PLUS 2006 demonstrates that N is not a 2 good choice for producing hollow or po 2 rous polymer nanofibers.