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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Fast Imaging Technique to Study Drop Impact Dynamics of Non-Newtonian Fluids
Published on: March 5, 2014
The evolution of spatial ordering of oil drops fast spreading on a water surface
Daigo Yamamoto1, Chika Nakajima1, Akihisa Shioi1
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0321, Japan.
Abstract:
The design of dynamically self-assembled systems is of high interest in science and technology. Here, we report a unique cascade in the self-ordering of droplets accompanied by a dewetting transition. The dynamic self-emergent droplets are observed when a thin liquid layer of an immiscible fluorocarbon oil (perfluorooctyl bromide, PFOB) is placed on a water surface. Due to the gradual evaporation of PFOB, a circular PFOB-free domain appears as a result of a local dewetting transition. A circular pearling structure is generated at the rim with the growth of the dewetting hole. As the next stage, linear arrays of droplets are generated in a radial manner from the centre of the hole. These one-dimensional arrangements then evolve into two-dimensional hexagonal arrays of microdroplets through collective rhythmical shrinking/expanding motions. The emergence of such dynamic patterns is discussed in terms of the nonlinear kinetics of the dewetting transition under thermodynamically dissipative conditions.
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