TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of recent systematic and comprehensive advancement in electrospun polymer fiber and their composites with shape memory property.Design/methodology/approach The nanofiber manufacture technique is initially reviewed. Then, the influence of electrospinning parameters and actuation method has been discussed. Finally, the study concludes with a brief review of recent development in potential applications.Findings Shape memory polymer (SMP) nanofibers are a type of smart materials which can change shape under external stimuli (e.g. temperature, electricity, magnetism, solvent). In general, such SMP nanofibers could be easily fabricated by mature electrospinning technique. The nanofiber morphology is mainly affected by the electrospinning parameters, including applied voltage, tip-to-collector distance, viscosity of solution, humidity and molecular weight. For actuation method, most SMP nanofibers and their composites can change their shapes in response to heat, magnetic field or solvent, while few can be driven by electricity. Compared with the block SMPs, electrospun SMP nanofibers’ mat with porosity and low mechanical property have a wide potential application field including tissue engineering, drug delivery, filtration, catalysis.Originality/value This paper provides a detailed review of shape memory nanofibers: fabrication, actuation and potential application, in the near future. VL - 47 IS - 1 SN - 0369-9420 DO - 10.1108/PRT-04-2017-0039 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/PRT-04-2017-0039 AU - Yao Yongtao AU - Xu Yuncheng AU - Wang Bing AU - Yin Weilong AU - Lu Haibao PY - 2018 Y1 - 2018/01/01 TI - Recent development in electrospun polymer fiber and their composites with shape memory property: a review T2 - Pigment & Resin Technology PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 47 EP - 54 Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -