A system useful for electrostatic deposition (ESD) of aerosol particles and methods of depositing the aerosol particles onto a substrate are disclosed. The ESD system and the method of the present invention are useful for electrostatically depositing nanoparticles produced by gas-phase synthesis, using an induction particle generator, onto a substrate. Direct current may be used with minimized corona leakage in the system, which would otherwise be damaging to the induction particle generator.