Patent ID: 8608992

Claim:
A method of producing one or more nanofibers, the method comprising: providing (a) a solution comprising a polymer and a solvent, (b) a nozzle for ejecting the solution, and (c) a stationary collector disposed a distance d apart from the nozzle; applying a voltage between the nozzle and the stationary collector; ejecting a jet of the solution from the nozzle toward the stationary collector; maintaining an electric field intensity between about 0.5 and about 2.0 kV/cm as the jet is ejected, the electric field intensity being defined as a ratio of the voltage to the distance d; evaporating at least a portion of the solvent from the jet; depositing one or more polymer nanofibers on the stationary collector as the jet impinges thereupon, each polymer nanofiber having an average diameter of about 500 nm or less; after the depositing, cold drawing the one or more polymer nanofibers at a strain rate between about 10 −4 s −1 and 200 s −1 ; and after the cold drawing, forming carbon nanofibers from the one or more polymer nanofibers.