Mechanical properties of a single electrospun fiber and its structures

A method to measure the Young's modulus of a single electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber is reported. The Young's modulus can be calculated from the force-displacement curves obtained by the bending of a single fiber attached to an atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever. It is suggested that the high modulus of electrospun fibers is caused by the orientation of molecular chains, which is confirmed by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) measurements. The communication will provide a basic understanding of the relationship between mechanical properties and structures of electrospun fibers.