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Liquid drops attract or repel by the inverted Cheerios effect
Stefan Karpitschka1, Anupam Pandey2, Luuk A Lubbers3
1Physics of Fluids Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands; s.a.karpitschka@utwente.nl.
Summary
Droplets on soft substrates interact via capillarity and elasticity, leading to attraction or repulsion. This phenomenon, analogous to the "Cheerios effect," impacts condensation and colloidal assembly.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Particles at liquid interfaces attract due to surface tension (the
- Cheerios effect
- ).
- This interaction is crucial in phenomena like droplet formation and colloidal assembly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the analogous long-range interaction between adjacent liquid droplets on solid substrates.
- To explore the role of capillarity and bulk elasticity in droplet interactions on soft gels.
- To develop a theoretical framework for predicting droplet interaction forces.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of droplet interactions on soft gel substrates.
- Development of a theoretical model quantifying droplet interaction forces.
- Analysis of the influence of substrate thickness on interaction behavior.
Main Results:
- A novel long-range interaction between droplets on solid substrates was identified, driven by capillarity and bulk elasticity.
- On thick substrates, droplets exhibit purely attractive forces, leading to coalescence.
- On thin substrates, a short-range repulsive force emerges, preventing direct droplet contact.
Conclusions:
- The identified liquid-on-solid interaction is a versatile phenomenon analogous to the
- Cheerios effect
- .'
- This interaction significantly influences droplet behavior on soft polymer films, affecting condensation and coarsening.
- The findings have potential implications for colloidal assembly and mechanobiology.
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