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Evaporation of Concentrated Polymer Solutions Is Insensitive to Relative Humidity
Max Huisman1, Paul Digard2, Wilson C K Poon1
1SUPA and School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
A recent theory suggests that the evaporation kinetics of macromolecular solutions is insensitive to the ambient relative humidity (RH) due to the formation of a "polarization layer" of solutes at the air-solution interface. We confirm this insensitivity up to RH≈80% in the evaporation of polyvinyl alcohol solutions from open-ended capillaries. To explain the observed drop in evaporation rate at higher RH, we need to invoke compressive stresses due to interfacial polymer gelation. Moreover, RH-insensitive evaporation sets in earlier than theory predicts, suggesting a further role for a gelled "skin." We discuss the relevance of these observations for respiratory virus transmission via aerosols.
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