Controlled Uniform Coating from the Interplay of Marangoni Flows and Surface-Adsorbed Macromolecules

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.116.124501
• Publication Date: 2016-03-24T22:08:40Z
• Authors: Hyoungsoo Kim; François Boulogne; Eujin Um; Ian Jacobi; Ernie Button; Howard A. Stone
• Keywords: Particle (ecology)

Surface coatings and patterning technologies are essential for various physicochemical applications. In this Letter, we describe key parameters to achieve uniform particle from binary solutions. First, multiple sequential Marangoni flows, set by solute surfactant simultaneously, prevent nonuniform distributions continuously mix suspended materials during droplet evaporation. Second, show the importance of particle-surface interactions that can be established surface-adsorbed macromolecules. To a deposit in mixture, small concentration polymer (0.05 wt% each) is sufficient, which offers new avenue control coatings.