Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Reactive Vapor Deposition of Conjugated Polymer Films on Arbitrary Substrates
Published on: January 17, 2018
Vapor-Induced Motion of Liquid Droplets on an Inert Substrate
Xingkun Man1,2, Masao Doi1,2
1Center of Soft Matter Physics and its Applications, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
Abstract:
Evaporating droplets are known to show complex motion that has conventionally been explained by the Marangoni effect (flow induced by the gradient of surface tension). Here, we show that the droplet motion can be induced even in the absence of the Marangoni effect due to the gradient of the evaporation rate. We derive an equation for the velocity of a droplet subject to the nonuniform evaporation rate and nonuniform surface tension placed on an inert substrate, where the wettability is uniform and unchanged. The equation explains the previously observed attraction-repulsion-chasing behaviors of evaporating droplets.
Related Concept Videos
Distillation: Vapor–Liquid Equilibria
Vaporization
Vapor Pressure
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
Vapor Pressure Lowering
Vapor Pressure of Fluid
When a liquid is placed in a closed container with a small air space, and the space is evacuated, vapor molecules will...

