What are nanofibers used for?
Nanofibers have a very broad range of applications. First patented in the US in 1902 (#692,631), nanofibers have long been used in air filtration and many other areas. Liquid filtration applications followed shortly thereafter and thick webs of nanofibers can function like membranes. Nanofibers have increasingly found their way into all areas of nonwovens as production prices have fallen and manufacturing robustness has increased, including: medical barriers, protective garments, face masks, cosmetics, hygiene, acoustic and thermal insulation, battery separators, tissue scaffolds and even fashion. Adoption of nanofiber technology is driven by the surface area, pore size and other materials properties of the nanofiber web. Cutting edge research continues in many areas, but particularly in medicine and energy. Just as falling prices and scale allowed microfibers to enable new products and industries, the same is expected for nanofibers.
