On the Measured Current in Needle- and Needleless Electrospinning

The electric current was measured during needle-, rod- and roller electrospinning. The influence of the needle diameter, flow rate, protrusion needle length, and relative humidity on the current was studied using various polymer solutions. The results of Bhattacharjee et al. were confirmed in the experiments with polyethylene oxide solutions. Electrospinning from a droplet of a polymer solution placed on a steel rod confirmed the expected direct proportionality between the number of jets and the current. By measuring the current and the polymer throughput during roller electrospinning while simultaneously recording the process on a camera, the following process characteristics were found: the number of jets per spinning surface area, throughput per jet, total current, current per jet, and distance between Taylor cones on the surface of the spinning roller.