Electrospray cone-jet breakup and droplet production for electrolyte solutions

Abstract

The production of charge droplets via the electrospray of an electrolyte is experimentally and theoretically found to be a Coulombic fission phenomenon that occurs when induced space charge at the microjet interface reaches a critical density as the charge separation approaches the Bjerrum length. The field surrounding the cone is dominated by the Taylor harmonic, which is responsible for inducing space charge within an interfacial Debye layer, such that the jet breakup length and plume angle are strong functions of both the ionic strength and interfacial surface tension.