Patent attributes
The welding of certain polymeric nanofibers can be accomplished by exposure to an intense short burst of light, such as is provided by a camera flash, resulting in an instantaneous melting of the exposed fibers and a welding of the fibers where they are in contact. The preferred nanofibers are composed of conjugated, conducting polymers, and derivatives and polymer blends including such materials. Alternatively, the nanofibers can be composed of colored thermoplastic polymeric fibers or opaque polymers by proper selection of the frequency or frequency range and intensity (power) of the light source. The flash welding process can also be used to weld nanofibers which comprise a blend of polymeric materials where at least one of the materials in the blend used to form the nanofiber is a conductive, conjugated polymer or a suitable colored thermoplastic. Alternatively the material blend used to form the nanofibers may comprise a polymeric material containing a colored additive, which is not necessarily a polymer, for example carbon black, or a colored nano-particulate organic or inorganic material, dye or pigment.
