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Nanofibers by Electrospinning ProcessNanofibers by Electrospinning Processthe ES group at 

Alma Mater ‐ Bologna University

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Electrospinning of polymeric fibersElectrospinning of polymeric fibers

From macromolecules

Polymeric solution

From macromolecules …

Entanglements

Disordered

… to sub‐micrometric fibers

MicrofiberDisordered macromolecules Partially of fully 

orientation of macromoleculesmacromolecules

Nanofiber

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Electrospinning of polymeric fibersElectrospinning of polymeric fibers

Taylor cone

Stretching

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Electrospinning of polymeric fibersElectrospinning of polymeric fibers

Non‐woven mat made of polymeric nanofibersof polymeric nanofibers

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In 2006, in Bologna University the first Italian multidisciplinary research 

group focused on the manufacturing of small scale fibers (nanometric

fibers) by means of electrospinning technology was establishedfibers) by means of electrospinning technology was established.

Polymer chemestryMembers of the R h G

Electrical EngineeringResearch Group on Electrospinning

(RGE)

Mechanical Engineering

( )are from

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CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTProf. Prof. M.L.M.L. FocareteFocarete, Dr. C. , Dr. C. GualandiGualandi

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERINGDEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERINGDEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING

ProfProf A A ZucchelliZucchelli Prof D Fabiani Prof D FabianiProfProf. A. . A. ZucchelliZucchelli, Prof. D. Fabiani, Prof. D. Fabiani,,

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Th RGE i i i

Polymer characterization and functionalization Advanced Materials for Energy Distributions

The RGE activities

Polymer characterization and functionalization Biomedical applications Water treatment

Advanced Materials for Energy Distributions Electrical studies on High Voltage Fields

Energy Harvesting Sensors

Chemistry UnitElectric 

Engineering Unit

Leaded by Prof. M. L. Focarete 

Leaded by Prof. D. Fabiani

Mechanical and Mechatronic Unit

Leaded by Prof. A. Zucchelli

Mechatronic solutions for electrospinning Composites and Smart Materials

Packaging materials

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CIRI MAMNanofibers and nanofibrous membrane by electrospinning 

Fiber morphology Graphenep gy

Porous fibersSolid fibers Composite fibers

Core‐shell fibers Pearly fibersHollow fibers

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CIRI MAMNanofibers and nanofibrous membrane 

2D assembling

by electrospinning 

Random Aligned Layered – cross aligned

RadialStar shaped

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CIRI MAMNanofibers and nanofibrous membrane 

3D assembling

by electrospinning 

Yarn3D assembling

Bundle

H llHollow yarn

Pictures C and D kindly provided by Prof. RamakrishnaPictures C and D kindly provided by Prof. Ramakrishna

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CIRI MAMNanofibers and nanofibrous membrane 

Scaffolds with tunable porosity

by electrospinning 

Scaffolds with tunable porosity

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Wh fib ?

Nanofibers are characterized by:

Why nanofibers?

Nanofibers are characterized by:

1. Bio‐mimetism

Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) morphology on 

biomimetic materials presenting replicated 

Schwann cell (SC) topography. 

Phase contrast (a, c) and fluorescent 

micrographs (b, d ) of dissociated DRG 

lt d f 5 d l di th l ilcultured for 5 days on polydimethylsiloxane

(PDMS) (a, b) or replicas (c, d ) and stained 

with neurofilament immunocytochemistry

(b, d ). [1]( , ) [ ]

[1] Diane Hoffman‐Kim,1 Jennifer A. Mitchel, Ravi V. Bellamkonda, Topography, Cell Response, and Nerve Regeneration, Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 2010. 12:203–31

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Wh fib ?

Nanofibers are characterized by:

Why nanofibers?

Nanofibers are characterized by:

2. High surface/volume ratio

nanofiber

microfiber

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CIRI MAMNowadays applications of y ppelectrospun nanofibers

Huang ZM, Zhang YZ, Kotaki M, Ramakrishna S. 2003. A review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nanocomposites. Compos. Sci. Technol. 63:2223–53

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With UNIBO’ i t diff t tWith UNIBO’s equipment different types of Nanofibrous Membrane can be produced

SheetsSheets

2 mm2 mmSheetsSheets

Tubes having Tubes having tunable tunable 

diametersdiameters

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Actual projects on machines and equipments

1. Electrospinning equipments1. Electrospinning equipments

2. Lab scale production equipments and machines

3 Pre industrial production machines3. Pre‐industrial production machines

4. Mass production machines

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Examples of devices and machines 

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E l f d i d hiExamples of devices and machines 

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E l f d i d hiExamples of devices and machines 

Machine for automatic bundle or bundle coating production