Electrospinning is a nano-fiber manufacturing process that uses an electrical potential to initiate the spinning from a charged polymer solution. The primary objective of this research is to understand the effects of electrostatics on the convergence and alignment of the fibers deposited onto various targets. Desired orientation of the fibers can be achieved by potentially addressing three aspects: jet path control, target design, and solution properties. The first two will be addressed in this paper. It is shown that the spread of the fibers on the target can be decreased by using a disc electrode at the source, which creates a nearly parallel field between the source and target. The results are also shown to agree with an ion-jet charge transport model. This electrode placed at the source can also be used to direct the fibers to different areas on the target by angling it with respect to the plane of the target. Effects of target design on fiber alignment are also demonstrated.
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