FLUID FORMULATIONS FOR ELECTRIC-FIELD-DRIVEN SPINNING OF FIBERS

• Main Authors: ROBERTSON JOHN A, WASHINGTON, JR. ANDREW L, SCOTT ASHLEY S
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 23.09.2010
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; CRIMPING OR CURLING FIBRES, FILAMENTS, THREADS, ORYARNS; MECHANICAL FINISHING OF YARNS OR ROPES; METALLURGY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TEXTILES; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; TRANSPORTING; USE OF INORGANIC OR NON-MACROMOLECULAR ORGANIC SUBSTANCES ASCOMPOUNDING INGREDIENTS; WARPING OR BEAMING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL; YARNS; YARNS OR THREADS

A first method comprises: dissolving a polymer in a terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent to form a polymer solution; dissolving a salt in a polar organic solvent to form a salt solution; and mixing the salt solution and the polymer solution to form a mixture. The salt and the polar organic solvent do not cause substantial precipitation of the polymer upon mixing with the polymer solution. A resulting terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture is suitable for forming fibers by electric-field-driven spinning from one or more spinning tips onto a target substrate. A composition comprises the terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture resulting from the method. A second method comprises forming fibers by electric-field-driven spinning of the first composition from one or more spinning tips onto a target substrate. A second composition comprises the fibers formed by the second method.