Electrospinning is a term used to describe a class of fiber
forming processes by which electrostatic forces are employed to
control the production of fibers. It is closely related to the more
established technology of electrospraying, which generally refers
to processes in which electrostatic forces are used to control the
formation of droplets. “Spinning” in this context is a textile term
that derives from the early use of spinning wheels to form yarns
from natural fiber staples like cotton and is commonly used to
identify fiber-forming processes for synthetic fibers as well. In
both electrospinning and electrospraying, the role of the
electrostatic forces is to supplement or replace the conventional
mechanical forces (e.g. hydrostatic, pneumatic) used to form the
jet and to reduce the size of the fibers or droplets, hence the term
“electrohydrodynamic jetting”. Electrospraying was described in
the technical literature by Zeleny as early as 1914 [1], while
electrospinning first appears in the patent literature in 1902 [2].
Electrospraying has enjoyed a rich history in the intervening