Patent ID: 8518319

Claim:
A method comprising: dissolving a polymer in a terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent to form a polymer solution; dissolving a salt in a polar organic solvent to form a salt solution; mixing the salt solution and the polymer solution to form a mixture; allowing a terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture to phase separate from the mixture; removing the phase separated terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase from the mixture; and after removing the phase separated terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase from the mixture, using the terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture to form fibers by electric-field-driven spinning from one or more spinning tips onto a target substrate, wherein: the salt and the polar organic solvent do not cause substantial precipitation of the polymer upon mixing with the polymer solution; the terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture has an electrical conductivity less than 100 μS/cm; and the terpene, terpenoid, or aromatic solvent phase of the mixture is suitable for forming the fibers by electric-field-driven spinning from the one or more spinning tips onto the target substrate.