Aligned Electrospun Nanofibers induced by Magnetic Field

Electrospinning has been extensively explored as a simple and versatile method for drawing fibers. The nanofibers are usually collected as nonwoven mats. The results presented in this article show that the electrospun nanofibers can be uniaxially aligned by introducing two nonconductive ferrite magnets collector, and polymer chains parallel to the fiber axis for the aligned nanofibers. The alignment of the nanofibers was characterized by use of digital cameras and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Alignment on the molecular level was investigated by polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, polarized Raman spectroscopy, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. Such uniaxially oriented nanofibers exhibit a variety of potential applications in the areas of biomaterials, microelectronic, and pliotonics. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 110: 3368-3372, 2008