Melt differential electrospinning device and process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10344400-B2
Application number	US-201414888059-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2014
Priority date	May 3, 2013
Publication date	Jul 9, 2019
Grant date	Jul 9, 2019

Abstract

A melt differential electrospinning device and process, the melt differential electrospinning device comprising a spinning nozzle (1), a fiber receiving device (3), a first high-voltage electrostatic generator (6), a second high-voltage electrostatic generator (7), a grounding electrode (5), and n layers of electrode plates of a first electrode plate (2) and a second electrode plate (4), n being an integer greater than or equal to 2; the spinning nozzle comprises a splitter plate (21), a nut (22), a spring spacer (23), an air pipe positioning pin (24), a screw (25), a nozzle body positioning pin (26), a nozzle body (27), an air pipe (28), a heating device (29), a temperature sensor (210) and an inner cone nozzle (211). The melt differential electrospinning process employs the melt differential electrospinning device, such that the polymer melt, under the effect of a wind field and an electric field, is uniformly distributed into a circle of dozens of Taylor cones along the conical surface end, and is further formed into dozens of jet flows and refined into nanofibers; and a plurality of melt differential electrospinning nozzles are installed below the splitter plate, thus realizing large-scale production of nanofibers, with a simple structure, and easy machining and assembly of components.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A melt differential electrospinning device, comprising:
a spinning nozzle comprising a nozzle body, a male cone nozzle and an inner cone nozzle sleeved outside the male cone nozzle, configured for making spinning material melt flow onto an outer cone surface of the male cone nozzle and an inner cone surface of the inner cone nozzle, wherein the inner cone surface of the inner cone nozzle has a conical shape opening wider in a downward direction, and the inner cone nozzle and the male cone nozzle are configured as a nested pair of cones;
a fiber receiving device;
a first high-voltage electrostatic generator, a second high-voltage electrostatic generator and a grounding electrode; and
n layers of electrode plates including a first electrode plate and a second electrode plate, which are set under the spinning nozzle, with n being an integer greater than or equal to 2;
wherein, the first electrode plate is an electrode plate with holes in the middle thereof, the spinning nozzle is connected with the grounding electrode, the first electrode plate is mounted at a certain distance under the spinning nozzle, the first electrode plate is connected with a high-voltage positive terminal of the first high-voltage electrostatic generator, the second electrode plate is mounted at a certain distance under the first electrode plate, and the second electrode plate is connected with a high-voltage positive terminal of the second high-voltage electrostatic generator.

2. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 1 , wherein, the fiber receiving device is a flat plate, or a mesh placement apparatus, or a roller; the fiber receiving device is placed above the second electrode plate; or the second electrode plate is substituted with the electrode plate with holes in the middle thereof, and the collection of fibers is realized under the second electrode plate.

3. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 1 , wherein, the spinning nozzle further comprises: a hopper, a feed cylinder, an airflow channel air-supply pipe, an airflow channel stand pipe, an airflow channel heat-insulating layer, a nozzle inner body, a key, a jack screw, a heating device, a temperature sensor, a threaded rod, a shaft coupling, a servo motor and a motor support; wherein the airflow channel stand pipe and the nozzle inner body are connected via screw thread and mounted in the nozzle body, the key is mounted between the airflow channel stand pipe and the nozzle body to position the airflow channel stand pipe and the nozzle body, the airflow channel air-supply pipe passes through the nozzle body and is connected with the airflow channel stand pipe via screw thread, the airflow channel heat-insulating layer is located in the airflow channel stand pipe and the nozzle inner body, the male cone nozzle is connected with the nozzle body via screw thread, the jack screw is mounted on the nozzle body, the jack screw is uniformly distributed along the periphery, and the jack screw jacks the nozzle inner body to adjust the uniformity of the annular gap between the nozzle body and the nozzle inner body, the feed cylinder is connected with the nozzle body via a screw, the hopper is connected with the feed cylinder via screw thread, the threaded rod is located in the feed cylinder, and the threaded rod is connected with the servo motor via the shaft coupling, the servo motor is mounted on the motor support, and the servo motor is fixed on the flat plate of the feed cylinder via a screw; the male cone nozzle is connected with the grounding electrode, the airflow channel air-supply pipe is connected with an external hot air source, and the heating device and the temperature sensor are connected with a temperature control box.

4. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 1 , wherein, the spinning nozzle further comprises: a splitter plate, a nut, a spring spacer, an air pipe positioning pin, a screw, a nozzle body positioning pin, an air pipe, a heating device, and a temperature sensor; the splitter plate is located above the nozzle body, the nozzle body and the splitter plate are positioned via the nozzle body positioning pin, the nozzle body and the splitter plate are connected via a screw, the nozzle body is set with an oblique flow passage through which the melt flows, the splitter plate is set with a subchannel, and the inlet of the oblique flow passage on the splitter plate is in communication with the outlet of the subchannel on the splitter plate; a hole for a gas to pass through is set inside the air pipe, the hole at the air outlet inside the air pipe is a coniform hole, the air pipe is mounted in the inner hole of the nozzle body and the splitter plate, an annular gap in which the melt flows is formed between the external surface of the air pipe and the inner hole of the nozzle body; the air pipe is connected with an air duct of external hot air source via the screw thread on the upmost thereof, the top of the air pipe is fixed with the spring spacer via a nut; a key groove is further opened on the top part of the air pipe, and an air pipe positioning pin or a key is mounted in the key groove; the male cone nozzle and the nozzle body are connected via screw thread; a heating device is wrapped outside the nozzle body and the splitter plate, and a temperature sensor is mounted for temperature control; and the first nozzle is connected with the grounding electrode.

5. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 4 , wherein: the subchannels on the splitter plate are a plurality of subchannels that are distributed uniformly, and a plurality of spinning nozzles are mounted under one splitter plate.

6. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 4 , wherein the bottom end of the air pipe is connected with the male cone nozzle via screw thread, a circular hole and a coniform hole for a gas to pass through are set inside the male cone nozzle, and the spinning material melt flows along the passage to the annular gap between the air pipe and the inner hole of the nozzle body and finally flows onto the outer cone surface of the male cone nozzle and the inner cone surface of the inner cone nozzle.

7. The melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 3 , wherein, the material is fed at the center of the feed cylinder and wind is fed at the side edge of the feed cylinder, the wind fed at the side edge passes through the airflow channel stand pipe and then blows downward verticality onto the outer cone surface of the male cone nozzle.

8. A melt differential electrospinning process, which employs the melt differential electrospinning device according to claim 7 , wherein:
a polymer melt is provided to the splitter plate via a spinning material melt plasticizing and supplying device, wherein: the external hot air source is turned on to supply hot air at a certain temperature into the air pipe; after being split by the subchannels in the splitter plate, the spinning material melt flows into the oblique flow passage of the nozzle body, then flows into the annular gap between the air pipe and the inner hole of the nozzle body, and finally flows onto the cone of the first nozzle; the first high-voltage electrostatic generator and the second high-voltage electrostatic generator are turned on in turn to form a high-voltage electrostatic field between the first electrode plate and the first nozzle and between the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate, the spinning material melt is uniformly distributed into a circle of dozens of Taylor cones along the lower end of the lateral side of the first nozzle, thereby the spinning material melt is jetted into threads; then, under the combined action of the wind fi

Assignees

• Univ Beijing Chem Tech

Inventors

• Yang Weimin
• Li Haoyi
• Jiao Zhiwei
• Zhong Xiangfeng
• Yan Hua
• Xie Pengcheng
• An Ying
• Ding Yumei
• Tan Jing
• Chen Hongbo

Classifications

• D01D5/0069

  characterised by the spinning section, e.g. capillary tube, protrusion or pin · CPC title

• D01D5/0092 Primary

  characterised by the electrical field, e.g. combined with a magnetic fields, using biased or alternating fields · CPC title

• D01D5/0023

  the material being a polymer melt · CPC title