Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > NC State researchers create 'nanofiber gusher': Report method of fabricating larger amounts of nanofibers in liquid

NC State researchers use shearing method to create polymer nanofibers in liquid.
CREDIT: Photo courtesy of Orlin Velev, NC State University.
NC State researchers use shearing method to create polymer nanofibers in liquid.

CREDIT: Photo courtesy of Orlin Velev, NC State University.

Abstract:
"Scalable Liquid Shear-Driven Fabrication of Polymer Nanofibers"

Authors: Stoyan Smoukov, Tian Tian, Eunkyoung Shim and Orlin Velev, North Carolina State University; Narendiran Vitchuli, Sumit Gangwal, Miles Wright and Pete Geisen, Xanofi Inc.; Manuel Marquez, Ynano Llc.; and Jeffrey Fowler, Syngenta Co.

Published: March 18, 2015, online in Advanced Materials

DOI: 10.1002/adma.201404616

Abstract: A simple process for batch or continuous formation of polymer nanofibers and other nanomaterials in the bulk of a sheared fluid medium is introduced. The process could be of high value to commercial nanotechnology as it can be easily scaled up to the fabrication of staple nanofibers at rates that could exceed tens of kilograms per hour.

NC State researchers create 'nanofiber gusher': Report method of fabricating larger amounts of nanofibers in liquid

Raleigh, NC | Posted on March 19th, 2015

Creating large amounts of polymer nanofibers dispersed in liquid is a challenge that has vexed researchers for years. But engineers and researchers at North Carolina State University and one of its start-up companies have now reported a method that can produce unprecedented amounts of polymer nanofibers, which have potential applications in filtration, batteries and cell scaffolding.

In a paper published online in Advanced Materials, the NC State researchers and colleagues from industry, including NC State start-up company Xanofi, describe the method that allows them to fabricate polymer nanofibers on a massive scale.

The method - fine-tuned after nearly a decade of increasing success in producing micro- and nanoparticles of different shapes - works as simply as dropping liquid solution of a polymer in a beaker containing a spinning cylinder. Glycerin - a common and safe liquid that has many uses - is used to shear the polymer solution inside the beaker along with an antisolvent like water. When you take out the rotating cylinder, says Dr. Orlin Velev, Invista Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper describing the research, you find a mat of nanofibers wrapped around it.

When they first started investigating the liquid shearing process, the researchers created polymer microrods, which could have various useful applications in foams and consumer products. "However, while investigating the shear process we came up with something strange. We discovered that these rods were really just pieces of 'broken' fibers," Velev said. "We didn't quite have the conditions set perfectly at that time. If you get the conditions right, the fibers don't break."

NC State patented the liquid shear process in 2006 and in a series of subsequent patents while Velev and his colleagues continued to work to perfect the process and its outcome. First, they created microfibers and nanoribbons as they investigated the process. "Microfibers, nanorods and nanoribbons are interesting and potentially useful, but you really want nanofibers," Velev said. "We achieved this during the scaling up and commercialization of the technology."

Velev engaged with NC State's Office of Technology Transfer and the university's TEC (The Entrepreneurship Collaborative) program to commercialize the discoveries. They worked with the experienced entrepreneur Miles Wright to start a company called Xanofi to advance the quest for nanofibers and the most efficient way to make mass quantities of them.

"We can now create kilograms of nanofibers per hour using this simple continuous flow process, which when scaled up becomes a 'nanofiber gusher,'" Velev said. "Depending on the concentrations of liquids, polymers and antisolvents, you can create multiple types of nanomaterials of different shapes and sizes."

"Large quantities are paramount in nanomanufacturing, so anything scalable is important," said Wright, the CEO of Xanofi and a co-author on the paper. "When we produce the nanofibers via continuous flow, we get exactly the same nanofibers you would get if you were producing small quantities of them. The fabrication of these materials in liquid is advantageous because you can create truly three-dimensional nanofiber substrates with very, very high overall surface area. This leads to many enhanced products ranging from filters to cell scaffolds, printable bioinks, battery separators, plus many more."

###

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation's Accelerating Innovation Research program. NC State's researchers Stoyan Smoukov, Tian Tian and Eunkyoung Shim co-authored the paper, as did Narendiran Vitchuli, Sumit Gangwal, Miles Wright and Pete Geisen from Xanofi Inc.; Manuel Marquez from Ynano Llc.; and Jeffrey Fowler from Syngenta Co.

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Dr. Orlin Velev

919-513-4318

Copyright © North Carolina State University

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Nanomedicine

High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics/Thermoelectrics/Energy storage

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Discovery of new Li ion conductor unlocks new direction for sustainable batteries: University of Liverpool researchers have discovered a new solid material that rapidly conducts lithium ions February 16th, 2024

A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024

Printing/Lithography/Inkjet/Inks/Bio-printing/Dyes

Presenting: Ultrasound-based printing of 3D materials—potentially inside the body December 8th, 2023

Simple ballpoint pen can write custom LEDs August 11th, 2023

Disposable electronics on a simple sheet of paper October 7th, 2022

Newly developed technique to improve quantum dots color conversion performance: Researchers created perovskite quantum dot microarrays to achieve better results in full-color light-emitting devices and expand potential applications June 10th, 2022

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project