Electrokinetic charging and evidence for charge evaporation in liquid microjets of aqueous salt solution

Electrokinetic charging of aqueous microjets was characterized by measuring streaming currents as a function of sodium iodide salt concentration. Measured streaming currents at high salt concentrations (up to 0.5 M) varied nonmonotonically with the jet velocity and can be explained by a multipolar charge distribution at the nozzle-water interface. In the case of potassium fluoride no multipolar charge distribution is observed. Electrokinetic potentials were estimated from the streaming currents, under the assumption that all excess charges are confined within the liquid jet. Measured photoelectron spectra indicate much smaller streaming potentials. To resolve the apparent discrepancy, we propose that a significant fraction of excess charges evaporates in the form of ion-water clusters.