abstract
- © 2016 TRFWe report the first 3-D printed coaxial electrospray devices for uniform generation of core-shell microparticles; the microencapsulation technology is of great importance in applications such as controlled drug release and self-healing composites. The devices, fabricated with stereolithography, produce core-shell microparticles from coaxial spouts with 150 µm-thick walls fed by 700 µm-diameter microchannels. Experimental characterization of single- and double-emitter devices using deionized water as inner flow and sesame oil as outer flow demonstrate uniform emitter operation; the per-emitter current is proportional to the square root of the flow rate of the driving liquid (water) and is independent of the flow rate of the driven liquid (oil), as predicted by the theory. The average outer diameter of the core-shell microparticles can be modulated by varying the flow rates fed to the spouts.