from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Nanospray transfers liquid into an aerosol via electrostatic forces created between an emitter and a counter electrode. Herein, we present compact laboratory-made instrumentation for nanospray-processing of silver colloid. The instrumentation is based on the pressurized polysulfone chamber fixing a disposable vial with an immersed platinum electrode and a long fused silica capillary supplying the sprayed liquid to the emitter. The combination of low flow rates (70 nL/min) with a sharp emitter, fabricated on a 3D printed grinding station, resulted in a fine aerosol. The low volume of released droplets allowed full evaporation of water during their flight towards the counter electrode without any need for drying gas or the addition of volatile solvents. The constructed device was successfully used for the deposition of water-free silver colloid without any requirement of its pretreatment. The deposition of completely dried nanoparticles on planar substrates eliminated undesirable coffee ring effect and deposits of increased homogeneity could be obtained. Electron microscopy confirmed no significant changes in the character of nanospray-processed nanoparticles. Finally, we also investigated several approaches for the improvement of the surface density of nanoparticles on the substrate at preserved time scale.
Keywords: Colloid, deposition, nanoparticles, nanospray, silver© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.