Electrospun nanofibers for breathalyzer diagnostics. Credit: Gouma; ACerS Bulletin.
If electrospinning is your specialty, you will want to be at one of the few conferences dedicated to this topic. If nanofibers are your specialty, you will want to know about electrospinning approaches for fabricating these materials.
Electrospinning and electrospraying allow for the synthesis of unique morphologies. For example, fibers with nanoscale diameters but meter-long lengths can be fabricated with electrospinning. For an overview of the technology, see the March 2011 (pdf) ACerS Bulletin. (The “featured image” above is of a nozzleless electrospinner by Elmarco, a Czech Republic-based manufacturer.)
Electropsun materials are well on their way to becoming devices, too. For example, in the September 2012 (pdf) issue of the ACerS Bulletin, SUNY Stonybrook professor Perena Gouma describes her use of metastable oxide nanofibers for breathalyzer-based medical diagnostics. She uses electrospinning to ensure that the fibers are nanoscale, as well as metastable.
Applications such as this and many more will be the focus of the 3rd International Conference on Electrospinning, August 4–7 in San Francisco, Calif.
The call for abstracts closes March 17, and organizers are looking for presentations on topics for sessions on:
- Theory and modeling
- Energy storage and harvesting with electrospun or electrosprayed materials
- Polymer nanofibers
- Ceramic and composite nanofibers
- Biomedical applications of electrospun materials
- Filtration and textiles
- Green materials and sustainability.
Registration for the conference will begin in March.