Nanofiber Production and Applications

Nanofibers (diameter 50–1,000 nm) are produced primarily by electrospinning (applied voltage 10–30 kV, flow rate 0.5–5 mL/h, needle-collector distance 10–25 cm) from polymer solutions (PAN, PVA, PCL, PA6 at 5–25 wt% in suitable solvent) achieving fiber diameters of 50–800 nm and basis weights of 1–20 g/m². High surface-area-to-volume ratio (10–100 m²/g) enables filtration efficiency of >99.97% for 0.3 µm particles (HEPA standard EN 1822) at 30–60 g/m² basis weight. Nanofiber membrane air permeability of 5–50 cm³/cm²/s balances filtration efficiency with breathability. Global electrospun nanofiber market is valued at $1.4 billion, with filtration (45%), medical (30%), and energy storage (15%) as primary application sectors.