Charge Separation During Splashing of Liquid Droplets in the Presence of an Electric Field

When conductive liquid droplets splash on solid or liquid surfaces, fragments are ejected from the surface that in the presence of an electric field can be inductively charged to the opposite polarity. This phenomenon can reduce the deposition efficiency of electrostatically applied conductive coatings such as water base paints. The charge separation process was investigated by collecting and measuring the size and charge of splashed fragments ejected from surfaces in the presence of an electric field.