A General Framework for Liquid Marbles
Abstract
Liquid marbles refer to liquid droplets that are covered with a layer of non-wetting particles. They are observed in nature and have practical significance. However, a generalized framework for analyzing liquid marbles as they inflate or deflate is unavailable. The present study fills this gap by developing an analytical framework based on liquid-particle and particle-particle interactions. We demonstrate that the potential final states of evaporating liquid marbles are characterized by one of the following: (I) constant surface area, (II) particle ejection, or (III) multilayering. Based on these insights, a single-parameter evaporation model for liquid marbles is developed. Model predictions are in excellent agreement with experimental evaporation data for water liquid marbles of particle sizes ranging from 7 nanometers to 300 micrometers (over four orders of magnitude) and chemical compositions ranging from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic. These findings lay the groundwork for the rational design of liquid marble applications.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2102.06434,
title = {A General Framework for Liquid Marbles},
author = {Adair Gallo and Fernanda Tavares and Ratul Das and Himanshu Mishra},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.06434},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
27 pages and 7 figures in the main manuscript; 11 pages and 8 figures in the Supplementary Materials