Instability-Assisted Direct Writing of Microstructured Fibers Featuring Sacrificial Bonds.

Passieux, Renaud; Guthrie, Leigh; Rad, Somayeh Hosseini; Lévesque, Martin; Therriault, Daniel; Gosselin, Frédérick P · Adv Mater · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A 30 μm-diameter thread of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) dissolved in dichloromethane is deposited on top of the eye of a sewing needle. The deposition robot traces a straight line; the helical shape of the thread is due to the liquid rope coiling instability. This instability is used to fabricate microstructured fibers with tailored mechanical properties.