Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-30-2017

Published In

Nature Communications

Abstract

Drop drying and deposition phenomena reveal a rich interplay of fundamental science and engineering, give rise to fascinating everyday effects (coffee rings), and influence technologies ranging from printing to genotyping. Here we investigate evaporation dynamics, morphology, and deposition patterns of drying lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal droplets. These drops differ from typical evaporating colloidal drops primarily due to their concentration-dependent isotropic, nematic, and columnar phases. Phase separation occurs during evaporation, and in the process creates surface tension gradients and significant density and viscosity variation within the droplet. As a result, the drying multiphase drops exhibit different convective currents, drop morphologies, and deposition patterns (coffee-rings).

Keywords

Fluids, liquid crystals, wetting

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Nature Publishing Group.

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