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

Publication Year
2016

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

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

Journal
Phys Rev Lett
Volume
116
Issue
12
Pages
124501
Date Published
2016 Mar 25
ISSN Number
1079-7114
Alternate Journal
Phys Rev Lett
PMID
27058080