Stratification of polymer-colloid mixtures via fast nonequilibrium evaporation

In drying liquid films of polymer-colloid mixtures, stratification in which polymers are placed on top of larger colloids is studied. It is often presumed that the formation of segregated polymer-colloid layers is solely due to the proportion in size at fast evaporation as in binary colloid mixtures. By comparing experiments with a theoretical model, we found that the transition in viscosity near the drying interface was another important parameter for controlling the formation of stratified layers in polymer-colloid mixtures. At high evaporation rates, increased polymer concentrations near the surface lead to a phase transition from a semidilute to concentrated regime, in which colloidal particles are kinetically arrested. Stratification only occurs if the formation of a stratified layer precedes the evolution to the concentrated regime near the drying interfaces. Otherwise, the colloids will be trapped by the polymers in the concentrated regime before forming a segregated layer. Also, no stratification is observed if the initial polymer concentration is too low to form a sufficiently high polymer concentration gradient within a short period of time. Our findings are relevant for developing solution-cast polymer composites for painting, antifouling and antireflective coatings.