Hydrophobic Electrospun Polyimide Nanofibers for Self‐cleaning Materials

Abstract

In this paper, polyimide (PI) nanofibers with diameters of 300–400 nm are successfully produced via electrospinning methods. Electrospinning parameters such as polymer concentration, applied voltage, feed rate, and the needle‐to‐collector distance have been studied systematically to investigate their effects on morphology. The smooth‐surfaced uniform nanofibers with diameters ranging from 300 to 400 nm can be obtained at the optimal parameters, further discussed herein. The synthesized PI nanofibers show improved thermal stability and a high hydrophobicity with a maximum contact angle of 140.7° and low surface energy of 3.12 mN · m −1 , indicating potential applications as self‐cleaning materials, such as solar panel cleaning, window glass cleaning, and cements.