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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films
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Self-Sustaining 3D Thin Liquid Films in Ambient Environments.

Ryan M Camacho1, Davin Fish1, Matthew Simmons1

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84604, USA.

Advanced Materials Interfaces
|October 19, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Researchers created stable, sub-micron thin liquid films (TLFs) of pure water on custom 3D geometries. These self-sustaining microscale water fountains overcome evaporation using surface tension and microfluidics.

Keywords:
additive manufacturingthin liquid films

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Area of Science:

  • Fluid dynamics
  • Materials science
  • Microfluidics

Background:

  • Thin liquid films (TLFs) are crucial in diverse fields, from cell membranes to nuclear reactor safety.
  • Creating stable water TLFs, especially on complex geometries, presents significant challenges.
  • Existing methods struggle to maintain water TLFs indefinitely in ambient conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report the first successful creation of stable, sub-micron thin liquid films of pure water on custom 3D geometries.
  • To demonstrate a novel method for generating indefinitely persisting water TLFs in ambient environments.
  • To explore the potential of microfluidics and 3D printing for advanced liquid film applications.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of microscale "mounts" and microfluidic channels using a custom high-resolution 3D printer and specialized resin.
  • Modification of the 3D-printed polymer to be hydrophilic to promote wetting.
  • Utilizing wetting principles and capillary effects to create self-sustaining microscale "water fountains" that counteract evaporation.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated the realization of stable thin liquid films of water with custom 3D geometries.
  • Achieved indefinitely persisting water TLFs in ambient environments.
  • Constructed self-sustaining microscale "water fountains" that continuously replenish evaporated water using surface tension.

Conclusions:

  • This study presents the first-ever demonstration of stable sub-micron thin liquid films of pure water on curved 3D geometries.
  • The developed microfluidic and 3D printing approach enables the creation of persistent water structures with custom shapes.
  • This breakthrough has potential implications for fundamental research and technological applications requiring stable liquid interfaces.