Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 1, 2026

In Situ Characterization of Boehmite Particles in Water Using Liquid SEM
Published on: September 27, 2017
Larger Stabilizing Particles Make Stronger Liquid Marble
Zhou Liu1, Yuyan Zhang1, Chengliu Chen2
1College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China.
Abstract:
Understanding the mechanical stability of granular-armored liquid marbles is prerequisite for their applications including encapsulation, sensors, microreactions, and miniaturized liquid storage. Most liquid marbles are armored with agglomerated granular structure which complicates the wetting and interacting states of particles, hence, impeding one from understanding the effect of granular size on the mechanical stability of marbles. In this work, using a custom-built platform to examine the liquid marbles armored by a single layer of uniform grains, it is revealed that larger microsized grains produce stronger liquid marble. This finding is attributed to the gravity-induced capillary attraction which dominates the interaction of particles and provides additional tension to the granular network of the marble surface, which enhances the mechanical stability of marbles. In addition, different granular network structures are formed at the marble surface by using a binary mixture of monodisperse grains, and their effect on the mechanical stability of marbles is explored. The understandings offer important insights for application involving liquid marbles and provides guideline to formulate robust marble-based products.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together...
RNA Stability
Subatomic Particles
Stability
The stability of an LTI system is determined by the roots of its characteristic equation, known as poles. A system is stable if it produces a bounded...

