Characterization of Electrical Current and Liquid Droplets Deposition Area in a Capillary Electrospray

Abstract A comprehensive study was conducted to investigate the effects of applied voltage, distance between needle tip and counter electrode, liquid flow rate, pH and conductivity of water on the electrical current in a capillary electro-spray. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was employed to measure the size distribution of water droplets, which presented a mean diameter of 299 ± 76 nm. Statistical analysis using three-way ANOVA and nonlinear multivariate regression model were employed to study the interactions of applied voltage, distance between needle tip and counter electrode, and liquid feed rate with electrical current, and to develop regression equations to predict the current. It was found that electrical current was significantly (p