Low-Voltage Continuous Electrospinning Patterning.
Electrospinning is a versatile technique for the construction of microfibrous and nanofibrous structures with considerable potential in applications ranging from textile manufacturing to tissue engineering scaffolds. In the simplest form, electrospinning uses a high voltage of tens of thousands volts to draw out ultrafine polymer fibers over a large distance. However, the high voltage limits the flexible combination of material selection, deposition substrate, and control of patterns. Prior studies show that by performing electrospinning with a well-defined "near-field" condition, the operation voltage can be decreased to the kilovolt range, and further enable more precise patterning of fibril structures on a planar surface. In this work, by using solution dependent "initiators", we demonstrate a further lowering of voltage with an ultralow voltage continuous electrospinning patterning (LEP) technique, which reduces the applied voltage threshold to as low as 50 V, simultaneously permitting direct fiber patterning. The versatility of LEP is shown using a wide range of combination of polymer and solvent systems for thermoplastics and biopolymers. Novel functionalities are also incorporated when a low voltage mode is used in place of a high voltage mode, such as direct printing of living bacteria; the construction of suspended single fibers and membrane networks. The LEP technique reported here should open up new avenues in the patterning of bioelements and free-form nano- to microscale fibrous structures.
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
Xia
X
Li
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom.
Zhaoying
Z
Li
Department of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University , Wuxi 214122, China.
Liyun
L
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China , Chengdu 610054, China.
Guokun
G
Ma
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
Fanlong
F
Meng
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
Robyn H
RH
Pritchard
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom.
Elisabeth L
EL
Gill
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom.
Ye
Y
Liu
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom.
Yan Yan Shery
YY
Huang
3D architectures; bacteria patterning; biofabrication; biomembrane; direct writing; electrospinning; nanofibre