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Published on: August 28, 2017
Liquid marble and water droplet interactions and stability
Kazuyuki Ueno1, Ghislain Bournival, Erica J Wanless
1Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Osaka Institute of Technology, 5-16-1 Omiya, Asahi-ku, Osaka 535-8585, Japan. syuji.fujii@oit.ac.jp.
Particle-coated water droplets, or liquid marbles, show enhanced stability. Their interaction dynamics depend on surface properties, offering insights into droplet interactions and formulations.
Area of Science:
- Colloid and Surface Science
- Fluid Dynamics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Understanding droplet interactions is crucial for various industrial processes and formulations.
- Bare water droplets exhibit rapid coalescence upon contact, limiting their stability.
- Particle-coated droplets, or liquid marbles, offer a potential route to enhanced stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction dynamics and stability of individual particle-stabilized droplets (liquid marbles).
- To explore the influence of pH-responsive polymer coatings on droplet coalescence.
- To elucidate the mechanisms governing the stability of liquid marbles during interaction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a coalescence rig combined with a high-speed video camera for millisecond resolution visualization.
- Formed liquid marbles by coating water droplets with pH-responsive poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA-PS) polystyrene particles.
- Investigated asymmetric interactions between liquid marbles (pH 3 or 10) and bare water droplets at pH 3.
Main Results:
- Bare droplets coalesced instantly, while liquid marbles demonstrated increased stability.
- Liquid marbles with pH-responsive PDEA-PS particles showed an induction time before coalescence, dependent on surface hydrophobicity (longer at pH 10).
- Toluene vapor induced film formation of PDEA-PS particles, creating capsules that prevented coalescence and led to wetting within milliseconds.
Conclusions:
- Particle-stabilized droplets (liquid marbles) exhibit controllable stability based on surface chemistry.
- The pH-responsive nature of PDEA-PS particles significantly influences liquid marble interaction dynamics.
- This research provides valuable insights into droplet stabilization mechanisms with implications for formulation science.
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