Alternating current electrospray manufacturing and products thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11224884-B2
Application number	US-201615775779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2016
Priority date	Nov 12, 2015
Publication date	Jan 18, 2022
Grant date	Jan 18, 2022

Abstract

Provided in certain embodiments herein are alternating current electrospray systems and processes for manufacturing depositions, such as thin layer depositions. In some embodiments, processes and systems provided herein are suitable for and configured to manufacture uniform depositions, such as having uniform thickness.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A process for manufacturing a thin layer film or coating, the process comprising:
a. producing an electrostatically charged plume comprising a plurality of particles and/or droplets, the particles and/or droplets comprising an additive and a liquid medium, by:
i. providing a fluid stock to a first inlet of a first conduit of an electrospray nozzle, the first conduit being enclosed along the length of the conduit by a wall having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the first conduit having a first outlet and a first diameter, and the fluid stock comprising the liquid medium and the additive;
ii. providing an alternating current (AC) voltage (Vac) to the nozzle, thereby providing an electric field; and
iii. providing a pressurized gas to a second inlet of a second conduit of the nozzle, thereby providing high velocity gas at a second outlet of the second conduit, the high velocity gas having a velocity of about 5 m/s or more, the second conduit being enclosed along the length of the conduit by a second wall having an interior surface, the second conduit having a second inlet and a second outlet, and the second conduit having a second diameter and at least a portion of the first conduit is positioned inside the second conduit, the exterior surface of the first wall and the interior surface of the second wall being separated by a conduit gap, and

b. collecting a thin layer deposition on a substrate.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the thin layer deposition is a coherent film comprising a polymer matrix.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the coherent film comprises a nano-inclusion dispersed within the polymer matrix with most probable distance between nanoinclusions ranging 100 nm to 1000 nm.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the thin layer deposition has a thickness variation of less than 20% of the average thickness.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the additive comprises a polymer.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the concentration of the polymer in the fluid stock is about 10 wt. % or less.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the additive comprises a plurality of nano- and/or micro-structured particles.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of particles comprise a plurality of metal particles, ceramic particles, metal oxide particles, carbon nanostructures, or any combination thereof.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the liquid medium comprises water, an alcohol, dimethylformamide (DMF), tetrahydrofuran (THF), Dimethylacetamide (DMAc), chloroform, dichloromethane, or N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP).

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the additive is present in the fluid stock in a concentration of about 0.5 wt. % to about 50 wt. %.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first diameter is about 25 mm or more.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the voltage applied to the nozzle is about 10 kVAc or more.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the fluid stock is provided to the first inlet at a rate of more than 0.5 mL/min to 20 mL/min.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the fluid stock is 200 cP to 10 Poise.

15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the conduit gap has a gap size of at least 0.5 mm.

16. The process of claim 15 , wherein the gap size is at least 1.5 mm.

17. The process of claim 1 , wherein the thin layer film or coating has a thickness of 1 micron to 1 mm.

18. The process of claim 1 , wherein the second diameter of the second conduit is from more than 5 mm to about 10 cm.

19. The process of claim 1 , wherein a first outlet of the first conduit protruding beyond a second outlet of the second conduit by a protrusion length, or, the first outlet not protruding beyond the second outlet; wherein the protrusion length is about −0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm.

20. The process of claim 19 , wherein the protrusion length is about 0 mm.

21. The process of claim 1 , wherein the pressurized gas has a pressure of 15 psi to 45 psi.

22. The process of claim 1 , wherein the AC voltage applied to the nozzle is about 10 kVAc to about 30 kVAc.

23. The process of claim 1 , wherein the AC voltage applied to the nozzle has a frequency of about 50 Hz to about 500 Hz.

Assignees

• Univ Cornell

Inventors

• Joo Yong Lak
• Zhmayev Yevgen

Classifications

• Y10T428/30

  Self-sustaining carbon mass or layer with impregnant or other layer · CPC title

• B82Y30/00

  Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites · CPC title

• B05D3/042

  Directing or stopping the fluid to be coated with air · CPC title

• B05D2601/20

  used for non-pigmentation effect · CPC title

• B05D1/04

  involving the use of an electrostatic field {(B05D1/025 and B05D1/14 take precedence)} · CPC title