WS.V

TACKLING GLOBAL CHALLENGES WITH ELECTROSPINNING

September 22

WORKSHOP COMMITTEE

Antonella MACAGNANO, CNR

Electrospinning is internationally recognized as one of the key nanotechnologies of the future. It is currently the most economical, versatile and efficient technology for manufacturing both highly porous membranes, nano and/or microfibers and nano/microparticles. It allows to design nanofibrous matrices, starting from polymeric solutions, with multiple shapes (hollow, core-shell, nanocomposite, hybrid, porous, smooth, filiform, slice-like) and 2D- and 3D architectures.

These structures have been successfully used in numerous applications (energy, sensors, medicine, textiles, filtration, packaging, agriculture) due to their large surface area, high and adjustable porosity (e.g. controlled release systems), modular robustness ( combination of components) and ease of functionalization (encapsulation, blending, surface functionalization). The use of solvents and green methods as well as materials from waste from agro-industrial chains represents one of the last frontiers towards a sustainable approach. One hundred years after the foundation of the CNR, the workshop aims to promote the versatility of this technology and the advances achieved in this regard by research in the CNR, encouraged
by the birth in Italy of enterprises dedicated both to the development of customized equipment and functional materials for applications in both R&D and various fields (such as smart textiles, advanced filtration systems, sustainable packaging, cosmetics, slow-release biomedical gauze, etc.).