Electrostatic spinning device

Abstract

The utility model relates to an electrostatic spinning device which comprises a body, the body is provided with a cylinder part, a mouth part and a transition part located between the cylinder part and the mouth part, and a cavity used for containing a spinning solution is defined by the cylinder part, the transition part and the mouth part in a sealed mode; the pushing and pressing piece abuts against the inner wall of the barrel part and can move in the barrel part in the axial direction, and the pushing and pressing piece is actuated by an actuator to move; a heating device disposed at an outer periphery of the body against the barrel portion, the transition portion, and the mouth portion; and the atomizer is arranged at the mouth part and is used for atomizing the spinning solution. According to the electrostatic spinning device, the productivity of the electrostatic spinning process can be improved, and the thickness uniformity of the obtained product is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to fiber forming technology, and in particular to an electrospinning device for fiber forming. Background Art

[0002] Electrospinning technology is widely used in (nano) fiber molding. During the spinning process, the polymer solution or melt contained in the jet device is held at the nozzle by surface tension to form droplets. Under the induction of the external electric field, the droplets accumulate charges on the surface and are subjected to an electric field force in the opposite direction of the surface tension. As the electric field increases, the droplets at the nozzle are elongated from a sphere to a cone to form a Taylor cone. When the electric field strength increases to a critical value, the electric field force overcomes the surface tension of the liquid and ejects from the Taylor cone. Under the action of the high electric field, the jet oscillates at high speed to produce irregular spiral motion, and the jet is rapidly stretched and the solvent evaporates rapidly, eventually forming fibers with a diameter of nanometers, which are randomly scattered on the collection device to form a non-woven fabric.

[0003] There are many factors that affect electrospinning, such as solution properties (viscosity, conductivity and surface tension), voltage at the nozzle, distance between the nozzle and collector, and environmental parameters.

[0004] To this end, there are many laboratory electrospinning devices for research purposes, which include an injection pump and a syringe filled with an organic solution. By pushing the syringe at a controlled speed, the solution reaches the edge of the injection nozzle outlet, and a high-voltage DC power supply is supplied to the solution to tear the organic solution from the liquid into flying droplets. In the flight path to the collecting plate, the organic solution droplets dry to become fibers and finally fall onto the collecting plate to produce a non-woven fabric.

[0005] However, the productivity of such electrospinning devices is very low, and the organic solutions used in existing devices (such as solutions formed by dissolving water-soluble polymers PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) in DMF (dimethylformamide)) contain a large amount of volatile organic compounds, which is not environmentally friendly, and the thickness uniformity of the output product cannot be well controlled.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing electrospinning device to increase productivity and better control the thickness uniformity of the obtained product. Utility Model Content

[0007] The object of the present application is to provide an electrospinning device which can improve productivity and better control the thickness uniformity of the formed product.

[0008] To this end, the present application provides an electrospinning device, comprising: a main body, the main body having a barrel and a nozzle and a transition portion located between the barrel and the nozzle, the barrel, the transition portion and the nozzle enclosing a chamber for accommodating a spinning solution; a pushing member arranged against the inner wall of the barrel and movable in an axial direction within the barrel, the pushing member being actuated by an actuator to move; a heating device arranged at the periphery of the main body against the barrel, the transition portion and the nozzle; and an atomizer arranged at the nozzle to atomize the spinning solution.

[0009] Optionally, the electrospinning device further comprises a coil located at the periphery of the mouth for applying a high-voltage DC voltage to the droplets atomized by the atomizer.

[0010] Optionally, the internal shape of the heating device corresponds to the external shape of the body.

[0011] Optionally, the heating device is bonded to the body by a heat-resistant thermally conductive adhesive.

[0012] Optionally, the heating device is a thin film heater.

[0013] Optionally, the thin film heater is made of a woven metal mesh.

[0014] Alternatively, the thin film heater is a graphene heater.

[0015] Optionally, the nebulizer is an ultrasonic nebulizer.

[0016] Optionally, the atomizer is a piezoelectric ceramic atomizer.

[0017] Optionally, an internal thread is provided on the inner wall of the mouth, and an external thread is provided on the atomizer, and the atomizer is threadedly connected to the mouth through the internal thread and the external thread.

[0018] Optionally, the electrospinning device is further provided with a collector for collecting filaments split from the droplets discharged from the outlet at a position opposite to the outlet of the mouth, and the collector can move in different directions.

[0019] According to the scheme of the present application, on the one hand, by heating the organic solution in the electrospinning device, the volatility of the solution can be increased, and droplets can be generated at a faster rate to form fibers. On the other hand, by providing an atomizer, the droplets can be quickly atomized into droplets with smaller particle size, which further improves the stability of the filamentation, thereby improving the thickness uniformity of the final product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other aspects of the present application will be more clearly understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are only schematic and are not drawn to scale. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of an electrospinning device according to the present application; and

[0022] Figure 2 Schematically shows Figure 1 A cut-away perspective view of the electrospinning apparatus is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with examples. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are not intended to limit the present application in any way, and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other. In different drawings, the same components are represented by the same reference numerals, and for the sake of brevity, some components are omitted, but this does not mean that other components are excluded. It should be understood that the size, proportional relationship and number of components of the components in the drawings are not intended to limit the present application.

[0024] Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of an electrospinning device according to a preferred embodiment of the present application is schematically shown. Figure 2 Schematically shows Figure 1 The electrospinning device is a cross-sectional perspective view. The electrospinning device comprises a body 1 , wherein the body 1 has a substantially cylindrical barrel portion 11 and a nozzle portion 12 , and an inclined transition portion 13 between the barrel portion 11 and the nozzle portion 12 . Figure 1 The barrel 11 and the mouth 12 shown in the figure are both cylindrical, and the diameter of the barrel 11 is larger than that of the mouth 12, so that the diameter of the transition portion 13 gradually decreases from the barrel 11 toward the mouth 12, that is, gradually tapers.

[0025] The interior of the body 1 defines a chamber 14 for accommodating a spinning solution, wherein the spinning solution is a water-soluble polymer material solution, including PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) material or PVA polyvinyl alcohol material known in the art, which can be dissolved in a solvent such as DMF (dimethylformamide) to form a spinning solution.

[0026] DMF is used as a solvent in the spinning solution. It can dissolve the raw materials better and allow them to fully contact and react, thereby preparing nanomaterials with excellent performance. However, it needs to be removed during the spinning process.

[0027] The body 1 may be made of a material resistant to corrosion by the spinning solution, such as plastic or metal.

[0028] Although the barrel 11 and the mouth 12 are cylindrical in shape, ie, circular in cross section, as described above, they may also be cylindrical with a square or other shaped cross section, which can be designed and adjusted according to the processing technology.

[0029] The nozzle 12 has an outlet 16 for discharging droplets of the spinning solution.

[0030] The electrospinning device also includes a pushing member 2 partially accommodated in the main body 1, and the pushing member 2 has a piston portion 21 and a push rod 22 extending from the piston portion 21. The piston portion 21 and the push rod 22 can be formed integrally, or can be formed as separate parts and connected together by, for example, mechanical means such as welding.

[0031] The cross-sectional shape and size of the piston portion 21 are designed to correspond to the internal cross-sectional shape and size of the cylindrical portion 11 of the body 1 , so that the piston portion 21 can advance and retreat in the chamber 14 along the axial direction of the body 1 close to the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 11 .

[0032] An inlet may be provided on the barrel 11 for injecting the spinning solution. Optionally, a stopper may be provided at the rear end of the barrel 11 to prevent the pusher 2 from being drawn out of the barrel 11 .

[0033] Alternatively, the spinning solution can also be directly charged through the opening at the rear end of the barrel 11.

[0034] By applying force on the push rod 22, the push piece 2 can be pushed toward the mouth 12, or the push piece 2 can be pulled back. The push piece 2 can be actuated by an actuator, such as a pump or a motor (not shown in the figure), and the actuator can be various types of actuators, such as hydraulic or pneumatic motors.

[0035] An atomizer 4 is disposed inside the outlet 16 of the mouth 12 to atomize the solution contained in the chamber 14 , and droplets of the atomized solution are discharged from the outlet 16 .

[0036] In the present application, an internal thread (not shown in the figure) is provided on the inner wall of the mouth 12, and an external thread is provided on the atomizer 4, so that the atomizer 4 can be coupled to the mouth 12 or detachable from the mouth 12 through a threaded connection.

[0037] A coil 5 is provided at the periphery of the mouth 12, near the atomizer 4, through which a high-voltage DC voltage is applied to the droplets coming out of the atomizer 4. Under the action of the electric field between the high-voltage DC voltage and the collector (not shown in the figure), the droplets are torn apart and dispersed and deposited on the collector.

[0038] Because the diameter of the droplets coming out of the atomizer 4 is very small, the number of droplets is large and the distribution of the droplets is more uniform, the uniformity of the thickness of the product deposited on the collector under the action of the electric field is greatly improved.

[0039] In addition, a heating device 3 is provided on the periphery of the body 1, and the internal shape of the heating device 3 substantially corresponds to the external shape of the body 1 so as to fit the periphery of the body 1. To this end, the heating device 3 also includes a barrel matching portion 31 and a mouth matching portion 32 and a transition matching portion 33 located therebetween, but the mouth matching portion 32 is shorter than the mouth 12, so that a section of the mouth 12 is left uncovered, and the coil 5 as described above is provided on this section.

[0040] In the present application, the heating device 3 is a thin film heater, which can be a thin film heater that is heated in various ways, such as a woven heating metal mesh, or a graphene heater. Of course, it can also be a water bath heater with a cavity provided therein, but is not limited thereto.

[0041] The heating device 3 as a thin film heater can be bonded to the body 1 by using a heat-resistant and highly thermally conductive adhesive, thereby heating the body 1 and the solution contained therein to heat the solution to a set temperature.

[0042] In the present application, the solution may be heated to, for example, 30-100° C., but is not limited thereto, and the temperature range to be heated to may be set according to actual needs.

[0043] By heating the spinning solution contained in the body 1, the volatilization speed of the solution is increased, and the amount of volatile substances required is reduced, thereby being more environmentally friendly.

[0044] In addition, in the present application, a collector (not shown in the figure) can be arranged at a position opposite to the outlet 16 to collect the filaments split from the droplets discharged from the outlet 16 to form a fiber web. The collector can move in different directions to further adjust the speed and uniformity of collecting fibers.

[0045] Of course, the present application is not limited to the above structure, but many modifications can be made. For example, an additional nozzle can be provided at the outlet 16 of the mouth 12 to further adjust the flow rate of the atomized droplets, thereby optimizing and adjusting the deposition rate of the product.

[0046] In addition, regarding the connection between the atomizer 4 and the mouth 12, as mentioned above, the atomizer 4 is detachably fixed to the mouth 12 by a threaded connection, but the atomizer 4 can also be connected to the mouth 12 in other ways, for example, the atomizer 4 can be fixed to the outlet 16 by another intermediate piece such as a flange, and the atomizer 4 can protrude from the outlet 16 or be flush with the outlet 16 as shown in the figure, and can be adjusted as needed.

[0047] The atomizer 4 may be an atomizer that adopts various principles for atomization, such as an ultrasonic atomizer. Specifically, a piezoelectric ceramic atomizer may be used, but is not limited thereto.

[0048] By arranging a heating device 3 and an atomizer 4 in the electrospinning device, the present application can achieve the following technical effects:

[0049] -The vaporization of the organic solution was accelerated by an ultrasonic atomizer, thereby increasing the productivity of the electrospinning device.

[0050] -The organic solution contained in the body is heated by the heating device, so that less volatile organic matter is required, which is more environmentally friendly.

[0051] - It is also possible to actively compensate for the non-uniformity of the collected fibers by designing the collector as a movable collector, thereby producing a better quality product.

[0052] Practice has shown that, for different water-soluble polymer materials, the electrospinning device of the present application can increase the electrospinning productivity by 2-10 times.

[0053] The operation process of the electrospinning setup in this application can be briefly described as follows:

[0054] First, the prepared spinning solution (eg, a solution of PVP or PVA dissolved in DMF) is filled into the chamber 14 of the body 1, and then the heating device 3 is turned on until the spinning solution reaches a set temperature.

[0055] Subsequently, the actuator is activated to actuate the pusher 2 , and the spinning solution is pushed into the mouth portion 12 through the piston portion 21 to contact the ultrasonic atomizer 4 .

[0056] Then, the ultrasonic atomizer 4 atomizes the liquid into tiny droplets, and the atomization speed thereof can be adjusted by the power of the atomizer.

[0057] Afterwards, under the action of the electric field generated by the high voltage DC voltage applied through the coil 5, the droplets fly from the outlet 16 to the collector, and a more homogeneous water-soluble textile is produced through the programmed movement of the collector on the X, Y, and Z axes.

[0058] The present application has been described in detail above in conjunction with specific embodiments. Obviously, the above description and the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings should be understood as exemplary and do not constitute a limitation to the present application. For those skilled in the art, various modifications or changes can be made to the present application without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these modifications or changes do not depart from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An electrospinning device, characterized in that: include: A body (1), the body (1) comprising a barrel (11), a nozzle (12) and a transition portion (13) located between the barrel (11) and the nozzle (12), wherein the barrel (11), the transition portion (13) and the nozzle (12) enclose a chamber (14) for containing a spinning solution; A push piece (2) is arranged against the inner wall of the barrel (11) and is movable in the axial direction in the barrel (11), wherein the push piece (2) is actuated by an actuator to move; a heating device (3) disposed at the periphery of the body (1) against the barrel (11), the transition portion (13) and the mouth (12); and An atomizer (4) is arranged at the nozzle (12) to atomize the spinning solution.

2. The electrospinning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electrostatic spinning device further comprises a coil (5) located at the periphery of the mouth (12) for applying a high-voltage DC voltage to the droplets atomized by the atomizer (4).

3. The electrospinning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The internal shape of the heating device (3) corresponds to the external shape of the body (1).

4. The electrospinning device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The heating device (3) is bonded to the body (1) via a heat-resistant thermally conductive adhesive.

5. The electrospinning device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The heating device (3) is a thin film heater.

6. The electrospinning device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The thin film heater is made of a woven metal mesh.

7. The electrospinning device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The thin film heater is a graphene heater.

8. The electrospinning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The atomizer (4) is an ultrasonic atomizer.

9. The electrospinning device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The atomizer (4) is a piezoelectric ceramic atomizer.

10. The electrospinning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the mouth (12) is provided with an internal thread, and the atomizer (4) is provided with an external thread. The atomizer (4) is threadedly connected to the mouth (12) through the internal thread and the external thread.

11. The electrospinning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At a position opposite to the outlet (16) of the nozzle (12), the electrospinning device is further provided with a collector for collecting filaments split from the droplets discharged from the outlet (16), and the collector can move in different directions.

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