Mellado, PaulaMcIlwee, Holly AliceBadrossamay, Mohammad R.Goss, JosueMahadevan, LakshminarayananParker, Kevin2015-01-122011Mellado, Paula, Holly Alice McIlwee, Mohammad R. Badrossamay, Josue Goss, Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, and Kevin Kit Parker. 2011. “A Simple Model for Nanofiber Formation by Rotary Jet-Spinning.” Applied Physics Letters 99 (20): 203107.0003-69511077-3118http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13607704Nanofibers are microstructured materials that span a broad range of applications from tissue engineering scaffolds to polymer transistors. An efficient method of nanofiber production is rotary jet-spinning (RJS), consisting of a perforated reservoir rotating at high speeds along its axis of symmetry, which propels a liquid, polymeric jet out of the reservoir orifice that stretches, dries, and eventually solidifies to form nanoscale fibers. We report a minimal scaling framework complemented by a semi-analytic and numerical approach to characterize the regimes of nanofiber production, leading to a theoretical model for the fiber radius consistent with experimental observations. In addition to providing a mechanism for the formation of nanofibers, our study yields a phase diagram for the design of continuous nanofibers as a function of process parameters with implications for the morphological quality of fibers.en-USSolventsViscosityPolymersEvaporationDiffusionJournal Article2015-01-1210.1063/1.3662015