Pinning and Depinning Dynamics of an Evaporating Sessile Droplet Containing Mono- and Bidispersed Colloidal Particles on a Nonheated/Heated Hydrophobic Substrate

Abstract

The present study is primarily focused on the coupled effects of substrate heating, colloidal dispersion, and particle size variation on the contact line (CL) pinning-depinning dynamics of evaporating droplets containing mono- (3/4.5 μm) and bidispersed (3 and 4.5 μm) polystyrene colloidal particles on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrates. Experimental techniques such as high-speed visualization, optical microscopy, infrared thermography, and scanning electron microscopy are implemented to discover the plausible causes dictating the underlying physics. In the case of the nonheated substrate, there exists a significant delay in the CL depinning for the evaporating droplets containing bidispersed particles, as opposed to the monodispersed cases. A first-order model is illustrated for the determination of the net horizontal force acting on the particles near the CL. Interestingly, the model's findings revealed that due to the difference of particle size in the case of the bidispersed suspension, the interparticle contact force gets modified, thus enhancing the CL pinning. For the heated substrate cases, droplets with monodispersed particles (3 μm) exhibit a substantial delay in the CL depinning, whereas a nearly complete pinning of the CL is witnessed for the case of bidispersed colloidal suspension droplets. It is mainly due to the augmentation of particle deposition near the CL because of the circulatory thermal Marangoni and outward capillary flows. Thus, the mobility of the CL is inhibited, which is further reinforced by the presence of different-sized particles. Eventually, a ring-like deposition is observed, as opposed to an inner deposit commonly observed from the evaporation of colloidal droplets on hydrophobic substrates.