In-situ observation of hydrophobic micron particle impaction on liquid surface

Abstract

Particle impaction on a droplet surface directly affects the particle capture by the droplet, and this phenomenon is the basic process of wet scrubbing and wet deposition. The experimental system is established to in-situ observe the behavior of micron particles impacting on the liquid surface. 50–200μm hydrophobic PMMA and PS particles were used. The particles showed two types of motion behavior, namely, submergence and oscillation, after impaction onto the liquid surface. During particle sinking, the advancing contact angle remained constant. The shape of the liquid surface met the Young–Laplace equation under the quasi-static assumption. After the angle of the three-phase line reached the critical value, the liquid surface was closed, and the particle submerged. A small bubble formed, adhering to the particle trailing surface. If the particle velocity decreases to zero before the angle of the three-phase lines reaches the critical value, the particle will reverse the direction of its motion. When the particle moves to the horizontal liquid surface, the movement ceases. Reciprocating oscillation behavior was not observed. During particle reversion, the receding contact angle gradually decreased and then remained unchanged. The large contact angle hysteresis is the main cause of failure observation in rebound motion mode in the experiment. The changing rule of the critical submergence/oscillation velocity with the particle diameter and surface tension coefficient was studied. As the particle diameter increases, the critical submergence/oscillation velocity decreases. As the surface tension coefficient increases, the critical submergence/oscillation velocity increases. The observed critical submergence/oscillation velocity in this experiment demonstrated the accuracy of the proposed model.