Fabrication and applications of electrospun core-sheath fibers

Interests in electrospinning have recently been expanded further due to the ability of electrospinning to produce nanofibers with core-sheath or hollow structures. Such fibers have been widely studied as a promising candidate for many applications, such as biomedical and electrical devices. This thesis has been composed of two parts on the coaxial electrospinning technology: (1) an overview of the coaxial electrospinning, including its essential features, the material and process parameters that can impact fiber formation, and the potential applications of core-sheath fibers; (2) a research study on electrospun poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(&egr;-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) core-sheath structured fibers. The research project included the fabrication of core-sheath structured fibers, the extraction of PEG from the fibers, and the characterization of core-sheath fibers.