Modeling Nanoparticle Generation in a Corona Charger

Abstract

The charging of airborne particles is an important process in both scientific studies and industrial applications. Recently, a new type of apparatus based on aerodynamic particle focusing and the corona charger technique was developed. These corona chargers produced an excellent agreement in particle sizing and charging for particles larger than 60 nm. Moreover, it was suggested that corona chargers could produce nanoparticles with sizes of less than 60 nm. As a result, a prototype was developed for the purpose of nanoparticle generation. The high voltage at the tip of the needle results in a non-uniform electric field between the two electrodes. In the corona charger that was developed by Saprykina [1], gold nanoparticles were generated. This study is focused on modeling the gold nanoparticles produced by the needle in the corona charger. The total amount of gold nanoparticles was calculated and compared with the experimental data. Results show that the mass of gold nanoparticles could be estimated when the spark happened at the needle in the corona charger. In addition, it was found that the mass depended on the polarity and the charging intensity.