Dynamic Control of Particle Deposition in Evaporating Droplets by an External Point Source of Vapor

Abstract

The deposition of particles on a surface by an evaporating sessile droplet is important for phenomena as diverse as printing, thin-film deposition and self-assembly. The shape of the final deposit depends on the flows within the droplet during evaporation. These flows are typically determined at the onset of the process by the intrinsic physical, chemical and geometrical properties of the droplet and its environment. Here, we demonstrate deterministic emergence and real-time control of Marangoni flows within the evaporating droplet by an external point-source of vapor. By varying the source location, we can modulate these flows in space and time to pattern colloids on surfaces in a controllable manner.

References in corpus (3)

• Order-to-disorder transition in ring-shaped colloidal stains
• Controlled uniform coating from the interplay of Marangoni flows and surface-adsorbed macromolecules
• Kinetic interfaces of patchy particles

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Applying Droplets and Films in Evaporative Lithography
• Interfacial flows in sessile evaporating droplets of mineral water
• Contactless Manipulation of Binary Droplets via Sensing of Localized Vapor Sources
• Particle monolayer assembly in evaporating salty colloidal droplets
• Uniform deposition of particles in large scale by drying of binary droplets