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Effect Of Topology On The Adhesive Forces Between Electrospun Polymer Fibers Using A T-Peel Test, Florencia Ballarin, Todd Blackledge, Nicole Capitos Davis, Partrica Frontini, Gustavo Abraham, Shing-Chung Wong
Effect Of Topology On The Adhesive Forces Between Electrospun Polymer Fibers Using A T-Peel Test, Florencia Ballarin, Todd Blackledge, Nicole Capitos Davis, Partrica Frontini, Gustavo Abraham, Shing-Chung Wong
Todd A. Blackledge
Electrospinning provides an effective methodology to obtain high aspect ratio polymer fibers for biomimetic applications. In this article, we evaluate the effect of topology on adhesion between aligned fibers. Polycaprolactone is electrospun using two different setups: (i) a tip collector and (ii) a flat collector. The tip collector enables the fibers to self-align. When a fiber reaches the tip collector, the next fiber is repelled by the charge they carry, forcing the fibers to deposit in a parallel arrangement. The flat collector allows the fibers to deposit at random. The adhesion between the fiber mats is measured using a T-peel …