Abstract
Liquid-particle aggregates were formed electrostatically using pH-responsive poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA)-coated polystyrene particles. This novel non-contact electrostatic method has been used to assess the particle stimulus-responsive wettability in detail. Video footage and fractal analysis were used in conjunction with a two-stage model to characterize the kinetics of transfer of particles to a water droplet surface, and internalization of particles by the droplet. While no stable liquid marbles were formed, metastable marbles were manufactured, whose duration of stability depended strongly on drop pH. Both transfer and internalization were markedly faster for droplets at low pH, where the particles were expected to be hydrophilic, than at high pH where they were expected to be hydrophobic. Increasing the driving electrical potential produced greater transfer and internalization times. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
Highlights
Our group first demonstrated the formation of liquid-particle agglomerates via an electrostaticallydriven process in 2013 (Liyanaarachchi et al, 2013)
The new electrostatic process was soon extended to hydrophobic particles (Ireland et al, 2016), which remained embedded at the air-liquid interface instead of entering the droplet
We focus on poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA)-PS particles that were dried from a solution at pH 3, as these were consistently transported to the pendent droplet
Summary
Our group first demonstrated the formation of liquid-particle agglomerates via an electrostaticallydriven process in 2013 (Liyanaarachchi et al, 2013). A liquid droplet was produced at the end of an electrically grounded stainless steel capillary above a bed of particles, resting on a substrate to which a negative potential of several kilovolts was applied, causing the particles to jump from the bed to the pendent water droplet These initial experiments produced metastable agglomerates consisting of a water drop filled with (hydrophilic) glass beads. This direct contact method cannot be used to form metastable hydrophilic particle-liquid aggregates, since the liquid would soak into a bed incorporating hydrophilic particles
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