Header menu link for other important links
X
Patterning of colloids into spirals: Via confined drying
, M.G. Basavaraj
Published in Royal Society of Chemistry
2020
PMID: 32239019
Volume: 16
   
Issue: 15
Pages: 3753 - 3761
Abstract
Drying of complex fluids is a fascinating subject of interest to several growing fields, for example, forensic science, lithography, printing and coating technologies. In this article, we report that the drying of charge stabilized colloidal dispersions between two parallel plates is a route to intriguing self-assembly patterns. We show that when the dispersions are dried in parallel plate confinement, particles deposit as spiral patterns after the complete evaporation of the solvent irrespective of the confinement spacing. The formation of such patterns is understood by analyzing the underlying three phase contact line dynamics during the drying process. Compared to the usual discrete stick-slip motion of the contact line, typically observed in several drying configurations, in the parallel plate drying configuration, the contact line is found to exhibit continuous stick-slip motion. The de-pinning of the contact line is found to occur only locally and is observed to propagate in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions, leading to the patterning of colloids as spirals. Furthermore, we show that while the number of turns in the spiral deposit is influenced by the dispersion volume and particle concentration, the spiral patterns form irrespective of the shape of the particles in the dispersion. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
About the journal
JournalData powered by TypesetSoft Matter
PublisherData powered by TypesetRoyal Society of Chemistry
ISSN1744683X