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Characteristics of nFOG, an aerosol-based wet thin film coating technique

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Abstract

An atmospheric pressure aerosol-based wet thin film coating technique called the nFOG is characterized and applied in polymer film coatings. In the nFOG, a fog of droplets is formed by two air-assist atomizers oriented toward each other inside a deposition chamber. The droplets settle gravitationally and deposit on a substrate, forming a wet film. In this study, the continuous deposition mode of the nFOG is explored. We determined the size distribution of water droplets inside the chamber in a wide side range of 0.1–100 µm and on the substrate using aerosol measurement instruments and optical microscopy, respectively. The droplet size distribution was found to be bimodal with droplets of approximately 30–50 µm contributing the most to the mass of the formed wet film. The complementary measurement methods allow us to estimate the role of different droplet deposition mechanisms. The obtained results suggest that the deposition velocity of the droplets is lower than the calculated terminal settling velocity, likely due to the flow fields inside the chamber. Furthermore, the mass flux of the droplets onto the substrate is determined to be in the order of 1 g/m3s, corresponding to a wet film growth rate of 1 µm/s. Finally, the nFOG technique is demonstrated by preparing polymer films with thicknesses in the range of approximately 0.1–20 µm.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Tekes—the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, Beneq, CH-Polymers, Stora Enso, UPM Raflatac, and VR-Yhtymä under the project on “Roll-to-roll fabrication of advanced slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces for anti-icing applications (ROLLIPS).” H.T. acknowledges Walter Ahlström Foundation (Tutkijat maailmalle -program) for financial support. The authors thank Eskil Sahlin and Tove Mali’n from RISE for the ICP-OES measurements and for lending the SMPS equipment. Karin Hallstensson from RISE is acknowledged for the optical microscopy measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 692, 33101, Tampere, Finland

    Juha Harra, Paxton Juuti, Janne Haapanen & Jyrki M. Mäkelä

  2. RISE Bioscience and Materials, Research Institutes of Sweden, Drottning Kristinas Väg 45, 11428, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mikko Tuominen & Jenny Rissler

  3. Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100, Lund, Sweden

    Jenny Rissler

  4. Laboratory of Materials Science, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 589, 33101, Tampere, Finland

    Heli Koivuluoto, Henna Niemelä-Anttonen, Christian Stenroos, Hannu Teisala, Johanna Lahti, Jurkka Kuusipalo & Petri Vuoristo

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  1. Juha Harra
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Harra, J., Tuominen, M., Juuti, P. et al. Characteristics of nFOG, an aerosol-based wet thin film coating technique. J Coat Technol Res 15, 623–632 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-017-0022-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-017-0022-7

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