On Improve Your Technology Day, we immersed primary and secondary school students in the world of nanotechnology

The aim of the event was to introduce young people to the fact that studying or working in technical jobs can be exciting and fun.

In addition to a demonstration of a set of real nanoparticles, which included silver nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes or dispersions of quantum dots, we showed visitors at the Nanotechnology Centre stand how a simple electrospinning device can be used to produce nanofibres in the form of non-woven fabrics.

And how is the demonstration of nanofibre production by electrospinning carried out? The nanofibers are drawn from a dissolved polymer, in our case an aqueous solution of 12 wt% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and placed on a rod wetting electrode.
When the crank is turned, an electrostatic field is generated between the wetting electrode and the collector, which forms the nanofibers from the drop of polymer solution, where we can observe the formation of a non-woven layer on the black paper.

Nonwoven nanofibers have a wide range of applications from functional clothing and filter material to medical devices such as drapes or surgical drapes.

You can see what it looked like at our stand on the recording of the TV entry from 18:49 minutes. Or follow the activity on our social media, where you can find the full video report from our stand.