Direct electrospinning of nanofiber yarns

In this study, a modified electrospinning technique was used to produce highly-twisted nanofiber yarns using two oppositely-charged spinnerets and a rotary tube. The tube rotation speed was found to play a key role in producing the nanofiber yarn and controlling twist level, tensile strength, and fiber orientation. Yarns obtained by this process possessed better mechanical performance than aligned nanofiber webs. The setup can produce nanofiber yarns with a diameter in the range of 30 μm to 400 μm and twist level up to 6,000 twists per meter (tpm). Nanofiber yarns can be further processed into various fibrous structures with controlled three-dimensional architectures.