KR20110026627A - Insulating nozzle pack for electrospinning and electrospinning device comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An electrospinning apparatus with an insulation nozzle pack for electrospinning is provided to form an effective electric field and to fabricate nanofiber of fine and uniform thickness. CONSTITUTION: An eletrospinning apparatus with an insulation nozzle pack comprises: an extruder connector(100), nozzle body(200), and nozzle part(300). The extruder connector is formed with conductive materials connected to an extruder. The nozzle body is connected to the extruder connector. The nozzle body shields electricity by being made of non-conductive materials. The nozzle part comprises an electric field application unit and spinning hole.

Description

INSULATING NOZZLE PACK FOR ELECTROSPINNING AND ELECTROSPINNING DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an electrospinning insulated nozzle pack and an electrospinning apparatus including the same, and more specifically, to directly apply a voltage only to the nozzle of the insulated nozzle pack to increase the radiation efficiency, improve the durability of the nozzle pack itself, The present invention relates to an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack and an electrospinning apparatus including the same that can protect the electrospinning apparatus from damage due to high voltage.

Electrospinning (Electrospinning) is a technique for producing a fine diameter fibers by spinning the fiber raw material solution in a charged state, recently used as a technique for producing nanometer-class fibers, the research is actively being conducted. This electrospinning method discharges charged radiation material into the air through the radiation nozzle portion between two electrodes having opposite polarities, one pole of which is located at the spinneret and the other at the collector, which is then charged in air. It is a method for producing microfibers through drawing and branching of another filament. That is, the charged discharge filament becomes finer through severe fluctuations due to electrical effects such as mutual repulsion in the electric field formed between the nozzle and the collector.

Fibers produced by electrospinning have a diameter ranging from micrometers to nanometers, which in turn exhibits completely new properties. For example, an increase in the ratio of the surface area to the volume, an improvement in surface functionality, and an improvement in mechanical properties including tension. These superior properties allow nanofibers to be used in many important applications. For example, the web composed of such nanofibers is a membrane-type material having a porosity, and can be applied to various fields such as various filters, wound dressings, artificial supports, and the like.

An electrospinning device for electrospinning typically has a spinning solution main tank for storing spinning solution, a metering pump for quantitative supply of spinning solution, a nozzle pack having a plurality of nozzles for discharging spinning solution, and facing the nozzle pack. It consists of a collector that accumulates the fibers that are located and spun and a high voltage generator that generates a high voltage.

When manufacturing nanofibers using the electrospinning device, factors that determine the properties of nanofibers include material properties such as polymer solution concentration, dielectric properties, surface tension, distance between nozzle and collector, nozzle and collector Control variables such as voltage between, electric field charge density, electrostatic pressure in nozzle, injection speed of polymer solution, and the like.

In this regard, in the conventional electrospinning apparatus, the electric field is formed between the nozzle pack and the collector by applying a positive voltage or a negative voltage to the nozzle pack to which the molten polymer solution is radiated, and a voltage opposite to the nozzle pack to the collector. . However, in such a device, since a voltage is applied to the entire nozzle pack, there is a problem in that an electric field that is concentrated in the polymer solution is not formed. In addition, the nozzle pack is easily damaged by the high voltage applied to the nozzle pack, and other components in contact with the nozzle pack also have a problem of being damaged by the energized high voltage.

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, one object of the present invention comprises a nozzle body consisting of a non-conductive material between the extruder connection portion and the nozzle portion consisting of a conductive material is an effective electric field for the radiation material It is to provide an electrospinning insulated nozzle pack that can be formed to improve the radiation efficiency and protect the damage of the electrospinning apparatus by high voltage.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrospinning device which can improve spinning efficiency and can electrospin even thinner fibers.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

Insulated nozzle pack connected to the extruder of the electrospinning apparatus,

An extruder connecting portion made of a conductive material connected to the extruder,

A nozzle body connected to the extruder connection part and composed of a non-conductive material to shield electricity; And a nozzle unit coupled to the front end of the nozzle body, the nozzle unit including an electric field applying unit to which an electric field is applied and a spinneret radiating a radiation material.

The extruder connecting portion and the nozzle portion is formed of a steel material, the nozzle body may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of ceramic, Teflon, bakelite.

The front outer periphery connected to the nozzle portion of the nozzle body may be further formed wing portion for enhancing the shielding of the electric field.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A spinning material supply for supplying spinning material; An extruder which extrudes and spins the spinning material supplied from the spinning material supply unit; A nozzle pack connected to the tip of the extruder, a collector positioned opposite the extruder and accumulating fibers spun through the nozzle pack in the extruder; An electrospinning apparatus comprising a high voltage generator for applying a high voltage between the nozzle pack and the collector, the extruder relates to an electrospinning apparatus comprising the insulated nozzle pack of the present invention at the tip.

According to the electrospinning insulated nozzle pack of the present invention and the electrospinning apparatus including the same, the electric field is applied only to the nozzle portion and the electric field is shielded to the main body of the nozzle pack, thereby enabling the formation of an effective electric field for the radiating material, which is fine. And there is an advantage to enable the production of nanofibers of a uniform thickness, the nozzle pack body is not an electric field is energized so that the durability of the nozzle pack itself is improved, as well as the excellent effect of preventing damage to the electrospinning apparatus.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known general functions or configurations will be omitted.

Electrospinning insulation nozzle pack of an embodiment of the present invention is installed alone or a plurality of extruders to radiate by applying an electric field to the spinning material, the extruder connecting portion connected to the extruder, the nozzle body and electricity shielding the electric field is applied It includes a nozzle unit.

1 is a perspective view of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10 of the present invention is an extruder connecting portion 100 is connected to the extruder, a nozzle body 200 is coupled to the extruder connecting portion 100 and the nozzle body It is coupled to the 200 includes a nozzle unit 300 for emitting a spinning material.

The extruder connection part 100, the nozzle body 200, and the nozzle part 300 are formed in a tubular body, and flow paths 150, 250, and 350 through which the spinning material moves are formed, respectively.

The extruder connecting portion 100 is connected to the extruder, referring to Figure 3, the male thread portion 110 is formed on one end outer peripheral surface connected to the extruder 100, the other end outer peripheral surface connected to the nozzle body 200 The male screw portion 120 is formed. An inner circumferential surface of the end portion of the nozzle body 200 connected to the extruder connecting portion 100 is formed with a female screw portion 220 engaged with the male screw portion 120 of the extruder connecting portion 100, and on an inner circumferential surface of the opposite end. A female screw portion 230 is formed, and a male screw portion 330 engaged with the female screw portion 230 of the nozzle body 200 is formed at an outer circumferential surface of the end portion of the nozzle portion 300 connected to the nozzle body 200. Is formed.

The male screw portion 110 of the extruder connecting portion 100 is screwed with the female screw portion of the end of the extruder, and the male screw portion 120 of the extruder connecting portion 100 is screwed to the female screw portion 220 of the nozzle body 200. The female screw unit 230 coupled to the nozzle unit 300 may be coupled to the male screw unit 330 of the nozzle unit 300 to assemble an insulating nozzle pack. At this time, in some cases, an airtight holding member (not shown) such as an O-ring may be provided to maintain the airtightness of the coupling portion. Here, a flange 130 is formed between the extruder connector 110 and the body connector 120 to be firmly coupled.

In the present invention, the method of connecting the extruder connector 100, the nozzle body 200, and the nozzle unit 300 is not necessarily limited to this configuration.

The extruder connecting portion 100 is preferably formed of a steel material, the nozzle body 200 is to be made to move the spinning material to the nozzle unit 300, is composed of a non-conductive material to the nozzle unit 300 Ensure that the applied electric field is shielded. The material forming the nozzle body 200 is preferably formed of ceramic, and in some cases, a known material having insulation such as Teflon and bakelite may be used.

The length of the nozzle body 200 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 10 mm to 200 mm in consideration of the strength of the voltage, the residence time of the polymer spinning material, and the like.

On the other hand, Figure 4 is a cutaway perspective view showing another embodiment of the nozzle body 200. Referring to FIG. 4, the nozzle body 200 may further include a wing 210 to effectively shield the electric field applied to the nozzle 300. The wing unit 210 is formed to protrude on a front outer circumference connected to the nozzle unit 300 of the nozzle body 200 so that an electric field applied to the nozzle unit 300 is rearward of the nozzle body 200. To prevent it from falling.

The nozzle unit 300 is to discharge the spinning material is discharged into the spinning hole 310 is screwed to the front end of the nozzle body 200. The nozzle unit 300 may include an electric field applying unit 320 formed to allow an electric field to be applied to one side thereof. Here, the nozzle unit 300 is preferably formed of an electrically conductive material, for example, steel so that the electric field applied to the electric field applying unit 320 can be applied to the radiating material discharged.

The electric field applying unit 320 is preferably applied to a voltage within the range of 10 ~ 200 kV, the applied voltage is charged to the radiation material located in the flow path 350 of the nozzle unit 300, The spinning material is radiated in the form of fine filaments while passing through the spinning hole 310.

At this time, since the voltage applied to the electric field applying unit 320 of the nozzle unit 300 is not energized to the nozzle body 200, it is possible to concentrate charging on the discharged material.

On the other hand, the inner diameter of the flow path (150, 250, 350) in the insulating nozzle pack 10 is formed the same, the flow path 350 of the nozzle unit 300 is formed to be discharged by narrowing the inner diameter in the direction of the radial hole 310 It can be configured to increase the discharge pressure of the spinning material.

The inner diameter of the spinning hole 310 may be appropriately selected in consideration of the spinning material, the fineness of the desired spinning fiber, etc., for example, may be formed of 0.1 mm to 0.8 mm.

Still another aspect of the present invention, a spinning material supply unit for supplying an electrospinning spinning material, a nozzle pack for spinning the spinning material transported from the spinning material supply into the air, a collector for collecting the fibers discharged from the nozzle pack, the An electrospinning apparatus comprising a high voltage generator for applying a high voltage between a nozzle pack and a collector, the nozzle pack relates to an electrospinning apparatus comprising an electrospinning insulated nozzle pack according to the present invention described above.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing each component of the electrospinning apparatus including the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 5, the electrospinning device according to an embodiment of the present invention the spinning material supply unit for supplying a spinning material (1); An extruder (2) for extruding and spinning the spinning material supplied from the spinning material supply unit; A nozzle pack (10) connected to the tip of the extruder, a collector (4) positioned opposite the extruder and accumulating fibers spun through the nozzle pack in the extruder; An electrospinning apparatus including a high voltage generator 5 for applying a high voltage between the nozzle pack and the collector, wherein the nozzle pack includes the insulating nozzle pack 10 of the present invention described above.

In the electrospinning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the spinning material supply unit 1 is a part for feeding the spinning material which is a fiber raw material and transporting it to the extruder 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the spinning material supply unit 1 may include heating means (not shown) for melting the polymer chip, and transfer means (not shown) for transporting the molten polymer melt.

The spinning material supply unit 1 is not limited to this configuration, and alternatively, includes a spinning material storage tank for storing the polymer to be supplied to the extruder, a metering pump and a supply pipe which is a control device for supplying the stored polymer to the extruder in a constant amount per hour. can do.

Emissive materials usable in the present invention include polymer solutions, polymer melts, dissolved glass materials, and mixtures thereof. Non-limiting examples of representative spinning materials usable in the present invention include fluoropolymers, polyolefins, polyimides, polylactides, polyesters, polycaprolactones, polyvinylidene fluorides, polyacrylonitriles, polysulfones, polyimides, Polyethylene oxide, polyurethane, and the like, and these may be used alone or in a mixture of two or more. In addition, in the present invention, other additives may be added to the polymer solution or the molten polymer to improve physical properties.

The extruder 2 for discharging the spinning material transported from the spinning material supply unit 1 into a fibrous shape can more precisely control the flow rate of the spinning material than the syringe to obtain nanofiber thickness control and uniform fiber thickness according to the discharge amount. The extruder 2 can be both horizontal and vertical. The extruder 2 is a heater (not shown) that can set the temperature to 3 to 6 as an extruder for melting the polymer, a twin screw or a single screw (not shown) that can transfer the polymer, and the heater temperature, the speed of the screw, and the like. It may include a control unit (not shown) that can be adjusted. The insulated nozzle pack 10 is an insulated nozzle pack in which at least one nozzle for receiving the molten spinning material from the extruder 2 and discharging the spinning liquid is arranged.

The electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10 is made of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10 according to the present invention, the configuration of the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10 is the same as described above, duplicate description Omit.

The collector 4 is applied with a polarity opposite to the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10, the fine filament-shaped radiating material and a strong electric field radiated through the spinning hole 310 To form a filament that is radiated to a nanoscale diameter and integrated.

The collector 4 may be a metal having excellent conductivity, and may be continuously supplied to the electrospinning insulating nozzle pack 10 by a transfer means such as a transfer roller.

On the other hand, the charged filament can be integrated on a non-metallic substrate such as woven fabric, non-woven fabric, paper, etc. In this case, by placing the substrate on the front of the collector 4 to form a web, the web is formed The substrate is moved through the moving means, heated and calendered while passing through an upper and lower heating apparatus (not shown), and finally wound up by a winding roller (not shown).

On the other hand, in one embodiment of the present invention, the extruder 2 and the collector 4 are arranged to face in the horizontal direction, but is not limited to this may be arranged to face in the vertical direction. That is, the insulated nozzle pack and the electrospinning device of the present invention can be applied not only to the lateral radiator but also to the upper or lower radiator.

The high voltage generator 5 can use any method known in the art without limitation. Preferably, the voltage applied from the high voltage generator 5 is in the range of 10 ~ 200 kV is suitable for nanometer-class radiation.

Here, the voltage applied from the high voltage generator 5 is applied only to the nozzle unit 300 of the insulated nozzle pack 10 according to the present invention, and is not applied to the main body 200 so that the charged material is concentrated to the discharged polymer material. This allows a more powerful electric field to be formed between the radiating material to be radiated and the collector.

The voltage applied to the nozzle unit 300 is shielded by the main body 200 formed of a non-conductive material, and is also completely blocked by the wing 210 formed in the nozzle main body 200 to extruder 2. Alternatively, other components, such as the spinning material supply unit 1, are prevented from failing or breaking.

In addition, the insulating nozzle pack of an embodiment of the present invention is installed between the extruder 2 and the collector 4, the heating chamber (not shown) to maintain a constant ambient ambient temperature emitted from the nozzle unit 300 ) May be further included.

Nanofibers that can be produced using the insulating nozzle pack and electrospinning of the present invention is a filter material, photochemical sensor material, carbon material such as carbon nanotubes, electronic device material, biomedical material, tissue engineering material, drug delivery It can be applied to a wide range of materials, such as a base material and cosmetic materials for the manufacture of DNA. For example, nanofibers have a very large surface area compared to their volume, so they have an excellent effect when applied to filters. When nanofibers made of electrically conductive nanofiber are coated on glass, the color of the window can be detected by detecting the amount of sunlight. Can change. When the conductive nanofiber is used as an electrolyte of a lithium ion battery, the size and weight of the conductive paper can be greatly reduced while preventing leakage of the electrolyte. In addition, if nanofibers are made from artificial proteins made similar to biological tissues, they can be used for the manufacture of bandages or artificial skins that are immediately absorbed into the body as the wound heals.

Then, the operation of the electrospinning apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above will be described. First, when the raw material solution is quantitatively supplied from the spinning material supply unit 1 to the extruder 2 side, the polymer material is melted by the heater and the screw in the extruder 2 and discharged through the insulating nozzle pack 10. At this time, the temperature may be adjusted by the controller.

The polymeric material supplied into the extruder 2 is supplied by the rotation of the screw in an extruder, and is compressed, defoaming, or mixed and melted, and becomes a uniform melt, and is supplied to the next process. During extrusion, it is heated to maintain the molten state of the polymeric material, which is heated by a heater mounted on the extruder outer wall. The polymeric material is filtered by a filtration device to remove foreign substances that cause trimming during spinning. The polymerized material filtered by the filter is supplied to the insulating nozzle pack and discharged into the air.

In the electrospinning apparatus of the present invention, the high voltage generator 5 is not directly connected to the extruder 2 but is connected to the nozzle portion of the insulating nozzle pack 10. Specifically, the high voltage generator is connected to the electric field applying unit formed at one side of the nozzle unit of the insulating nozzle pack 10. The spinning liquid radiated from the insulating nozzle pack 10 at the tip of the extruder 2 is charged through the high voltage generator 5. The polymer spinning solution of the spinning material supply unit 1 is insulated and discharged through the nozzle pack 10. The spinning solution is stretched in the form of fine filaments while passing through the nozzle portion and discharged to the opposite collector 4 side. At this time, due to the strong electric field formed between the collector 4 and the charged filament, the spinning fiber 700 is elongated and spun to a nanoscale diameter by a Taylor cone-shaped whipping motion. In the electrospinning apparatus of the present invention, since the same effect as applying a high voltage directly to the spinning nozzle by the nozzle portion of the insulated nozzle pack can be obtained, a strong electric field is formed, which makes it possible to produce even thinner fibers due to the maximized whipping effect. .

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and many modifications are made by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains within the technical spirit of the present invention. This possibility will be self-evident. For example, in the present application, an electrospinning apparatus using an extruder has been mainly described. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the spinning pack has a metering pump 12 for supplying a polymer material and a polymer supplied from the metering pump 12. The invention may also be applied to an electrospinning apparatus comprising a syringe tube 10 for converting the material into a uniformly shaped flow and one or more spinning needles for spinning the polymeric material from the syringe tube.

1 is a perspective view of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded cross-sectional view of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an electrospinning insulating nozzle pack according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram of an electrospinning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram of an electrospinning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10: Electrospinning Insulation Nozzle Pack 100: Extruder Connection

200: nozzle body 210: wing portion

300: nozzle portion 310: spinning hole

320: electric field applying unit 150, 250, 350: euro

1: spinning material supply part 2: extruder

4 collector portion 5 high voltage generator

11: spinning material storage tank 12: metering pump

Claims (6)

Insulated nozzle pack connected to the extruder of the electrospinning apparatus, An extruder connecting portion made of a conductive material connected to the extruder, A nozzle body connected to the extruder connection part and composed of a non-conductive material to shield electricity; And Electrospinning insulated nozzle pack, characterized in that it comprises a nozzle coupled to the front end of the nozzle body, the nozzle portion including an electric field applying portion is applied to the electric field formed on one side and the radiation hole is radiated. According to claim 1, wherein the extruder connecting portion is formed with a male screw portion on the outer peripheral surface of one end, the male screw portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the other end, the end connected to the extruder connecting portion of the nozzle body is fitted with the male screw portion of the extruder connecting portion on the inner peripheral surface Physiologic female threaded portion is formed, the female threaded portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opposite end, the electrospinning insulation, characterized in that the male threaded portion is engaged with the female threaded portion of the nozzle body on the outer peripheral surface of the end connected to the nozzle body Nozzle Pack. The electrospinning insulated nozzle pack according to claim 1, wherein the extruder connection part and the nozzle part are made of steel, and the nozzle body is made of one selected from the group consisting of ceramic, Teflon, and bakelite. The electrospinning insulated nozzle pack according to claim 1, wherein a wing portion for strengthening shielding of the electric field is formed at a front outer circumference connected to the nozzle portion of the nozzle body. A spinning material supply for supplying spinning material; An extruder which extrudes and spins the spinning material supplied from the spinning material supply unit; An insulated nozzle pack connected to the tip of the extruder, a collector positioned opposite the extruder and accumulating fibers spun through the insulated nozzle pack in the extruder; An electrospinning apparatus comprising a high voltage generator for applying a high voltage between the insulated nozzle pack and the collector, wherein the extruder comprises an insulated nozzle pack according to any one of claims 1 to 4 at an end thereof. Device. The method of claim 5, wherein the insulating nozzle pack is installed between the extruder and the collector, characterized in that it further comprises a heating chamber for maintaining a constant ambient temperature around the fiber radiated from the nozzle unit 300 Electrospinning apparatus.

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