Preparation of Asphaltene Micro Fibers by Electrospinning

Presenter: Anand Natarajan

 

 

Electrospinning method was used till now to produce only polymer fibers from polymer solution or melt. In this study we apply electrospinning to noncovalently associating small molecules instead of polymers to produced micrometer size fibers/hollow fibers. Through interactions such as hydrogen bonding, Van der Waals forces, etc. a sufficient number of clustering of aggregates is reached that allows asphaltenes to electrospin successfully. Fibers with diameter ranging from 2-20μm were successfully spun from an asphaltene solution. Adding 2% hydrogen peroxide enhances electrospinning, leading to formation of hollow fibers, whereas adding 2% water inhibits electrospinning. The structure and morphology of the electrospun fibers were investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). This research will expand our knowledge regarding the behaviour of asphaltenes, its structure and morphology.