Electrospinning of Cellulose: Process and Applications

Cellulose is a naturally occurring polymer which is abundant and easily biodegradable. These properties make cellulose fibers useful for a wide range of applications such as filteration, artificial tissue/skin, protective clothing, etc. However, processing of cellulose is restricted by its limited solubility in common solvents and its inability to melt because of its numerous intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding . Electrospinning is one of the most common methods used for the synthesis of cellulose nanofibers. Electrostatic fiber spinning, or "electrospinning," is a novel process for forming fibers with submicron scale diameters. In electrospinning, a high voltage electric field is applied to the polymer solution that flows out of the needle tip and the fibers are collected on a grounded target plate. The present chapter highlights the current state-of-the-art synthesis of nanofiber mats of cellulose by elctrospinning in connection with process parameters and their influence on the properties of the fibers. Also discussed are the versatile industrial applications of those nonwoven fiber mats.