Investigation of Electrophoretic Mobility of Various Nanofibers in Ethanol or Water

Abstract

The mobility of particles in a dispersion or an aggregation is based on the electrostatic interaction energy of molecules inside the sample. The Smoluchowksi and the Henry’s equations are used for the calculation of electrophoretic mobility which is obtained from the zeta potentials. In this study, the electrophoretic mobility of nanofibers in ethanol or in water was calculated by using both equations from zeta potential values and related to their measured diffusion coefficients. Results showed that all samples in ethanol had positive zeta potential values, whereas all samples in water, except sample 3 containing gelatin, had negative zeta potential values. The samples with PVA or PVA-alginate had the most stable suspensions in water compared to other samples, regarding zeta potential values. The electrophoretic mobilities calculated by using the Smoluchowski and Henry equations of samples showed similar charge characteristics as zeta potential values. Gelatin might have charged by applied voltage during the electrospinning process. When results were related to the diffusion coefficient values, it was observed that the higher electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential values resulted in lower diffusibility. Moreover, adding limonene to the structure decreased the electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential values, and increased the diffusion coefficient. The adding different polymers revealed that molecular structure and charging behavior of the polymers are some of the most important factors on the electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential of nanofibers.