An experimental study of the electrospraying of water in air at atmospheric pressure

Water solutions with electrical conductivities ranging from that of the deionized water up to 2 S/m have been electrosprayed in air through narrow silica tubes. Results show unambiguously that steady cone jets of water in air without the assistance of glow discharge can be formed for the range of electrical conductivities we have explored. The absence of corona discharge has been proven not only for the good agreement between the experimental results and the scaling laws given in the cone-jet literature but also for the independence of the spray current on the atmosphere (air or CO2) in which water was being electrosprayed. Other regimes such as the electric dripping and the assisted glow discharge cone-jet mode that appear in the electrospraying of water in air at room temperature have also been investigated. (C) 2004 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.