Ring formation from a drying sessile colloidal droplet

Abstract

Ring formation from drying sessile colloidal droplets (∼1.0 mm in size) containing microparticles of silicon or polystyrene was investigated with video microscopy. Results show that ring formation begins at the pinned contact line with the growth of an annular nucleus in a line by line way, which recedes inward albeit only slightly, followed by stacking of particles when the flow velocity becomes sufficiently large. The central height of the droplet decreases linearly with evaporation time, which implies that in the early stage, the number of particles arriving at contact line increases with time in a power law N∝t3/(1 + λ), where the parameter λ, according to Deegan's evaporation model, is related to the contact angle via $\lambda = \frac{{\pi - 2\theta _c }}{{2\pi - 2\theta _c }}$λ=π−2θc2π−2θc. Experimental values of λ agree well with model calculation for small contact angles, but are relatively smaller in the case of large contact angles. ‘Amorphization’ mechanism for the deposit at different stages of evaporation is discussed. Marangoni flow in a droplet on heated substrate introduces a desorption path for particles along the liquid surface, which can partially resolve the ring. Residual particles floating on the liquid surface may leave behind a homogeneous monolayer coating inside the dried spot. A “jump” in the droplet surface area at later stage of evaporation seems inevitably to cause a depletion zone of particles next to the ring. These results may be helpful for the development of strategies towards suppression of coffee ring effect and/or obtaining homogeneous coatings from drying colloidal suspension.