Materials Science, MBHS Magnet - J. Kaluta, Instructor

Electrospinning - Scanning Electron Microscope Images

2008 Materials Science students made several nano-sized fiber samples using the electrospinning process. The electrospinning device was built by 2007 Blair Materials Science students and was inspired by the work of Michael Boyer and his students at the North Penn High School Engineering Academy. Blair students varied voltage, distance to the target, angle to the target, and mass percent of polyethylene oxide, and made several samples each.

The targets were made of copper.

Two samples from each group are shown below at 2,000 times magnification, 5,000x, 10,000x and 30,000x. Each sample was coated with a thin layer of gold/palladium using a sputter coater. Then the entire sample, copper target and all, was mounted onto a stub and put it into a Hitachi S4700 Cold FE-SEM that we had in the back room. OK, we don't really have a S4700 in the back room, they were made courtesy of Becky Rudolph at the American Museum of Natural History Microscopy and Imaging Facility in New York, who worked with us on the project. Thanks for all your help, Becky.

Click on the image for the larger file. Use the scale in the lower right hand corner to measure fiber diameter. The distance across the printed scale is printed below the scale, the white lines are subdivisions.