Rapid prediction of electrohydrodynamically printed polyethylene oxide (PEO) fiber width by using response surface methodology

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing of polyethylene oxide (PEO) based composites has attracted extensive interests to fabricate micro/nanoscale fibrous structures in the fields of flexible electronics, tissue engineering, and biosensors. As the PEO fiber width varies remarkably with different processing parameters, it is still difficult to obtain an optimal processing condition before the EHD process. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to establish a mathematical model and predict the EHD-printed fiber width. The PEO fibers were electrohydrodynamically printed to obtain the original input data for the modeling. Typical processing parameters including feeding rate, stage moving speed, working voltage, and nozzle-to-collector distance were selected to establish the regression model for the prediction of EHD-printed fiber width. Analysis of variance indicates that the feeding rate has the most significant effect on the fiber width. Theoretical analysis and simulation of the electric field intensity demonstrated the validity of the prediction model. Furthermore, the prediction model has also been verified by EHD printing experiments. This study provides a feasible approach to conveniently predict PEO fiber width without conducting EHD processes, which may promote the rapid design and fabrication of tiny structures with desired feature sizes.