Received August 26, 2004

Revised September 13, 2004

Abstract:

The process of electrospinning produces polymeric fibers with diameters ranging from the micrometer to the nanometer scale. As the fibers are produced, they are usually spun and collected in a random mat lacking structural orientation. In some applications there is interest in parallel alignment of nanofibers to produce structures with unique electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. A simple and successful method for spinning sheets with one centimeter wide strips of aligned nanofibers is presented. The technique uses copper wires spaced evenly in the form of a circular drum as a collector of the electrospun nanofibers. Aligned nanofiber sheets can be collected easily without disturbing the aligned structure, and the method is robust.

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