Journal of Textile Research ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (05): 28-36.doi: 10.13475/j.fzxb.20250707901

• Fiber Materials • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Taylor cone formation in melt electrospinning and fiber spinnability

WANG Xiaohui1(), WANG Yuhang2, XU Jinlong1, LIU Jinxing1, CHEN Zhe1, TAN Jing2, MEI Feng1, WANG Huaping1   

  1. 1 National Advanced Functional Fiber Innovation Center(Jiangsu New Horizon Advanced Functional Fiber Innovation Center Co., Ltd.), Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
    2 Yinglan Laboratory of Polymer Material Processing, Forming and Advanced Manufacturing, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
  • Received:2025-07-31 Revised:2026-03-05 Online:2026-05-15 Published:2026-07-10

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Abstract:

Objective In order to investigate Taylor cone formation and fiber spinnability of different polymer melts in an electric field during the melt electrospinning process, polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), matte polyethylene terephthalate (PET-TiO2), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) were adopted to form Taylor cones in melt-electrospinning. The principles and conditions for forming Taylor cones with different molecular structures of polymers were revealed by analyzing the spacing, width, and quantity of Taylor cones formed by melt. This work is expected to expand the types of melt electrospun micro/nano fibers.

Method Taylor cones were formed using a melt electrospinning setup consisting of material drying, melt extrusion, and high voltage power. Under different voltages and extrusion rates, Taylor cone images were recorded and analyzed. The spacing, width, and quantity of cone jets were compared among polymers with different chain structures. Additionally, the influence of melt index on PP and PLA was evaluated, and the influence of TiO2 addition on PET melt polarization was assessed.

Results During the formation of a Taylor cone, it was found that stronger polarity of polymer molecular chains and lower steric hindrance to rigidity would lead to better Taylor cone formation. The ranking was identified as PLA>PP>PBT>PET-TiO2> PET. In particular, polylactic acid (PLA-3251D) achieved optimal results under the conditions of 40 kV and an extrusion rate of 0.2 mL/min, and produced 50 Taylor cones with minimized spacing (1 mm) and width (0.2 mm). Compared the quantity, spacing, and width of Taylor cones in PP and PLA with different melt indexes, it was revealed that higher melt index polymers generated more Taylor cones in electric fields while reducing cone spacing and width due to enhanced melt fluidity. In contrast, the rigid molecular chains of PET restricted the flowability of chain segments, resulting in poorer Taylor cone formation where only 11 cones were formed under the conditions of 50 kV and an extension rate of 0.3 mL/min, with optimized spacing and width of 6 mm and 1 mm, respectively. Incorporation of TiO2 into PET improved melt polarization, and increased the cone count to 20 (50 kV, 0.3 mL/min), resulting in improved forming effect of Taylor cone jet. The flexibility of PBT molecular chains was increased compared to PET, forming 36 cones (50 kV, 0.1 mL/min) at 1.8 mm spacing and 0.4 mm width, demonstrating superior jet formation.

Conclusion Melt electrospinning is a green and effective technology for preparing micro/nano fibers. The formation of Taylor cone plays a critical role in melt electrospinning. The results show that polymer melts (regardless of polarity) undergo induced polarization under strong electric fields, with electric force inducing molecular orientation to form Taylor cones. As voltage increases, cone spacing and width decrease while cone number rises. The high polarity groups are found to enhance polarization capacity, and great molecular flexibility would strengthen polarization responsiveness. Conversely, rigid segments (benzene rings) elevate steric hindrance, impeding chain mobility, while low-entanglement-density chains exhibit superior electric-field-induced orientation. The increase of polymer melt index shows improved fluidity, increased cone number and reduced spacing/width under electric field. The future work could further investigate the scalability of this approach for real-world applications.

Key words: chemical fiber, melt electrospinning, Taylor cone, spinnability, micro/nano fiber

CLC Number: 

  • TS102.5

Fig.1

Homemade melt electrospinning device"

Fig.2

Schematic diagram of spacing, width and quantity of Taylor cones"

Fig.3

Schematic diagram of polymer melt molecular polarization under force and simulation of nozzle in electric field. (a) Polymer molecule polarization; (b) Force applied on melt in electric field; (c) Simulation of electric field"

Fig.4

Photos of Taylor cone jets from different polymer melts and quantities of Taylor cones. (a) PP melt Taylor cone; (b) PLA melt Taylor cone; (c) PET-TiO2 melt Taylor cone; (d) PET melt Taylor cone; (e) PBT melt Taylor cone; (f) Quantities of Taylor cones of different polymers"

Tab.1

Melt indexes of polymers at different spinning temperature"

试样名称 纺丝温度/℃ 熔融指数/(g·(10 min)-1)
PP-T30S 295 17.9
PP-S2040 295 109.0
PLA-L130 220 83.6
PLA-3251D 220 179.5
PET 295 312.6
PET-TiO2 295 297.6
PBT 295 105.3

Fig.5

Characteristic parameters of PP-T30S melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.6

Characteristic parameters of PP-S2040 melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.7

Characteristic parameters of PP melt Taylor cone under different voltages. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.8

Characteristic parameters of PLA-L130 melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.9

Characteristic parameters of PLA-3251D melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.10

Characteristic parameters of PLA melt Taylor cone under different voltages. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.11

Characteristic parameters of PET melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.12

Characteristic parameters of PET-TiO2 melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing; (b) Width;(c) Quantity"

Fig.13

Characteristic parameters of PBT melt Taylor cone under different voltages and extrusion rates. (a) Spacing;(b) Width;(c) Quantity"

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