| Abstract Scope |
Electrospray deposition is a spray coating process that utilizes a high voltage to atomize a flowing solution into charged microdroplets. These self-repulsive droplets evaporate as they travel to a target grounded substrate, depositing the solution solids. In self-limiting electrospray deposition (SLED), manipulation of the electrostatic repulsion, hydrodynamic forces, and evaporation kinetics can be employed to conformally cover 3D architectures, including the re-entrant and shadowed features of additive manufacturing (AM). The main challenge associated with SLED is that it is only compatible with a small subset of materials. Here, we discuss the design rules associated with SLED and approaches to incorporate nonSLED materials into these sprays. Most significantly, we show how to use combinations of nonSLED materials to create SLED coatings. In this way, we can incorporate a much wider range of functionalities into coatings on AM architectures, including (i) bioactive vaccine or drug, (ii) catalytic, or (iii) electrically conductive coatings. |