Effect of Evaporation Rate on Meniscus Splitting with Formation of Vertical Polysaccharide Membranes

Abstract

AbstractEvaporative self‐assembly of polymeric colloids is among the most attractive strategies for the preparation of soft materials with submicrometer‐scale ordered structures. In this study, meniscus splitting from an aqueous solution of liquid crystalline (LC) polysaccharide xanthan gum is verified under conditions of controlled evaporative rate in a limited space. Under fast evaporation rate with a steep gradient of humidity above the air–LC interface, the meniscus splitting is induced to bridge the gap and a vertical membrane with uniaxial orientation is obtained. The process is thermodynamically and polariscopically validated focusing on the ordered polymeric adsorption and the bridging of the millimeter‐scale gap. This clarification will serve not only as a method for immobilization of fluidically ordered structures but also in the control of the evaporative interface for the ordering of polymer solutions into advanced membranes with uniaxial orientation.