Patent ID: 8241542

Claim:
A method for preparing a composite material having nanofibers exposed therefrom, the method comprising: electrospinning a continuous nanofiber and depositing the continuous nanofiber in a zigzag pattern on a substrate, creating multiple layers stacked on each other, each of the layers having loops of the continuous nanofiber on first and second ends of each of the layers; embedding the layers in a polymeric material, creating a block containing a stack of the layers; cutting the block perpendicular to the layers to sever the loops on the first ends of the layers from the layers, creating a first surface of the block with severed ends of the nanofiber flush with the first surface of the block; and removing a portion of the polymeric material from the first surface of the block, such that the severed ends protrude from the first surface, forming a set of fibrils.