Abstract/Summary

Electrospinning is a relatively unsophisticated technique for generating continuous fibres whose diameters can approach nano-scale dimensions. In coaxial electrospinning, two different liquids can be spun, one inside the other, to produce a composite fibre with a core-sheath structure. We prepared dual-core fibres consisting of poly vinyl-pyrrolidone sheaths and cores of the short-pitched chiral nematic mixture CB15:E9. The flow rates, polymer concentration and applied voltage were optimized prior to fibre production. The fibres were deposited as uniform non-woven mats that displayed selective reflection of visible light from the blue phase of the confined chiral liquid crystal. These reflections are both temperature dependent and reversible and such mats offer potential as flexible sensors.