7^th International Conference on
Smart Materials and Nanotechnology (Webinar)

Biography:

Emilija Zdraveva, PhD, is postdoc at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology. Her research interests concern electrospinning, with focus on the development of electrospun materials for heat energy storage based on phase change materials and development of electrospun scaffolds for in vitro cells culture. She received her PhD degree in Textile Science and Technology in 2015 at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology, her Master degree in Textile Engineering at Ghent University, Belgium in 2009 and her Bachelor degree in Textile Technology at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology in 2006. As a PhD candidate she was working at Deakin University, Institute for Frontier Materials in Geelong, Australia in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the Nanofibers group, Lab of electrospinning. She has over 40 publications and is currently involved in a Croatian Science Foundation project: Custom Tailored Fibrous Scaffold Prototype for Tissue Cells Culture via Combined Electrospinning.

 

Abstract:

Nanofibers fabrication nowadays has become unimaginable without mentioning or research involving the technique of electrospinning. Due to the vast possibilities that this technique offers in regard to nanofibers morphology, nanofibrous structures architecture and application prospective, it has become the main interest of many scientists with various expertise profiles. Electrospun nanofibers are advantageous over conventional fibers due to their lightweight, high surface-to-volume ratio, adjustable fiber diameter/morphology, and well-controlled functionality. This presentation will cover the principle of electrospinning and device configurations including needle, bi-component, needleless, nanoyarn electrospinning and melt electrospinning. A highlight will be given to the last decades nanofibers device productivity increase, starting from the first collector modifications up to the innovative needleless design leading towards industrialization of the technique. The talk will further focus on the possibilities of nanofibers functionalization towards specific application fields including: energy/electronics: i.e. energy storage (supercapacitors and batteries), energy conversion (solar cells and piezoelectric materials) and sensors; biomedicine: i.e. tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery systems and implants; environmental protection: i.e. air and water filtration; chemistry: i.e. catalysts; functional textiles: i.e. protective clothing (e.g. protection against heat, chemical agents protection), superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic materials, materials with directional water transfer, water collection materials etc.; other application fields: acoustic insulation, composite reinforcements etc. Special insight in regard to nanofibrous applications will be given to smart nanofibers example studies such as: on-off switch drug release systems, tumor cells detectors, tissues cells mechanical-electrical energy conversion, smart nanogenerators etc. In overall the presentation will highlight the huge potential of these advanced nanofibrous materials in different application areas that can improve human life in many ways.