Increasing scarcity of raw materials and the increasing consumption of rare (expensive) metals are decisive for the many researches in the field of transparent, conductive, flexible electrodes. The aim is to enable their production on a large scale at low cost. This is intended to replace brittle materials such as ITO and make it possible in the future to install more curved displays in devices such as mobile phones and touchscreens. At present, however, no all-round manufacturing method has been found for this.
Electrospinning manufacturing process
Recently, attention was drawn to electrospinning. A process that is not very productive and more suitable for special products. According to Wikipedia, electrospinning is the production of thin fibers from polymer solutions by treatment in an electric field.
For special applications in medical technology
In this process, the polymer solution is dosed at an electrode and withdrawn from the electrode by the electric field and accelerated. In a complex process, the polymer solution is split into small and very small fibers and webs, which are finally deposited on the counter electrode as a kind of fleece. The process typically produces fibers with diameters of less than 1000 nm, which is why the products are referred to as nanofibers (even though the definition strictly requires a fiber diameter of less than 100 nm). The result of electrospinning is almost impossible to predict. The desired target product is therefore empirically achieved through a lengthy optimization of the parameters. Charge density, viscosity and surface tension of the polymer solution have a significant influence on the morphology of the fibers and their diameter.
So far, applications of nanofibers have mainly been in the field of filter processes for fine dusts and the like, but a wide range of other applications, including medical technology, are being discussed.