PEO as spinnable polymer and spinning-agent for non-spinnable materials

PEO (poly(ethylene oxide)) with high molecular weight is an excellently spinnable polymer for needleless electrospinning. With its interesting chemical and physical properties, it has a wide potential spectrum of usage, such as in drug delivery or in the biotechnology sector. Depending on the desired application, PEO can be used in its original water-solvable form or can be crosslinked to create water-resistant fabrics. With average fiber diameters of 400 nm - 2 μm, these nanofiber-mats have improved properties in comparison with other production methods, e.g. high fiber strength and nearly defect-free fibers which allow studying the pure material’s parameters. PEO, however, can also be used as a spinning-agent for many non-spinnable materials, such as graphite, PEDOT:PSS, TiO2, or aloe vera. In this way, either composite fibers from both spinning partners are created, or non-solvable particles are integrated into a nanofiber-mat. The article gives an overview of spinning parameters for pure PEO and electrospinning different combinations with PEO as spinning partner, depicting the large differences between several conductive, semiconductive and isolating materials.