Deformation of confined liquid interfaces by inhomogeneous electric fields and localized particle forces

Oil-water interfaces that are created by confining a certain amount of oil in a square shaped pixel (∼200 x 200 μm² with a height of ∼10 μm) topped by a layer of water, have a curvature that depends on the amount of oil that happens to be present in the confining area. Under the application of an electric field normal to the interface, the interface will deform due to inhomogeneities in the electric field. These inhomogeneities are expected to arise from the initial curvature of the meniscus, from fringe fields that emerge at the confining pixel walls and, if applicable, from interfacially adsorbed particles.

We model the shape of the confined oil-water interface invoking capillarity and electrostatics. Furthermore, we measure the initial curvature by tracking the position of interfacially adsorbed particles depending on sample tilt.

We found that the pixels exhibited meniscus curvature radii ranging from 0.6-7 mm. The corresponding model based minimum oil film thicknesses range between 0.7 and 9 μm. Furthermore, the model shows that the initial meniscus curvature can increase up to 76 percent relative to the initial curvature by the electric field before the oil film becomes unstable. The pixel wall and particles are shown to have minimal impact on the interface deformation.