| Electrospray of nanoparticle inks is of great importance to the manufacturing of functional materials. In this study, we develop a three-dimensional multiphysics method to model the electrospray of colloidal suspension to flat substrates. The Lagrangian Particle Tracking (LPT) transport equation is coupled to the mass and heat transfer of convective droplet vaporization model, which allows us to track each particle-laden ink droplets and dry nanoparticles in the electrospray plume and to probe the deposit structures. Herein, we consider dilute inks that are experimentally relevant, assuming monodisperse nanoparticles. We characterize the overall characteristics of the spray and the dynamics of ink droplets or dry nanoparticles. Our results confirm the segregation effect of primary and satellite droplets in the plume. We observe nanoparticles deposit structure changing process. Our results show that nanoparticles exhibit higher density at the edge of deposition, which agrees with previous experimental studies. |
