Long-Range Vapour-Mediated Interactions between Adjacent Droplets

HONGYU ZHAO, Dani Orejon Mantecon, Khellil Sefiane, Martin E. R. Shanahan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Droplet motion can occur due to interaction with the surrounding vapour phase. We examine experimentally the motion of two adjacent droplets, either pure liquid or a binary mixture, without direct contact. A droplet is repelled or attracted by the (pinned) adjacent droplet which acts as a vapour source, depending on its initial concentration as well as the composition in the vapour, even for a pure liquid. The observation is explained by a theoretical model that combines evaporation and adsorption processes, which unifies the mechanism for both directions of motion (attraction and repulsion) and more importantly for both binary mixtures and pure liquid droplets. Good agreement is achieved between the theoretical model and experimental observations. A critical concentration is proposed to determine the transition between attractive and repulsive motion, this being a criterion to predict the droplet motion.
Original languageEnglish
JournalLangmuir
Early online date5 Feb 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 5 Feb 2025

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