Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time

An instrument was developed for measuring real time changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets of miscible liquids and other soft materials. Droplets containing glycerol and water were supported on superamphiphobic surfaces and vibrated by applying a short mechanical im...

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Main Authors: Harrold, Victoria C., Sharp, James S.
Format: Article
Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39467/
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author Harrold, Victoria C.
Sharp, James S.
author_facet Harrold, Victoria C.
Sharp, James S.
author_sort Harrold, Victoria C.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description An instrument was developed for measuring real time changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets of miscible liquids and other soft materials. Droplets containing glycerol and water were supported on superamphiphobic surfaces and vibrated by applying a short mechanical impulse. Laser light was refracted through the droplets and allowed to fall on the surface of a photodiode. Time dependent variations in the intensity measured by the photodiode during vibration were used to monitor the decay of the droplet oscillations. The frequencies and spectral widths of the droplet vibrational resonances were then obtained from Fourier transforms of these time dependent intensity signals. A recently developed model of viscoelastic droplet vibration was used along with these values and measurements of the drop dimensions to extract the surface tension and viscosity of the drops as they evaporated. Collection of data was automated and values of frequency, spectral width, drop size, surface tension and viscosity were obtained with a time resolution of three seconds over a period of thirty minutes. The values of surface tension and viscosity obtained were shown to be in good agreement with literature values obtained from bulk glycerol/water solutions; thus validating the technique for wider application to other multicomponent liquids and soft matter systems.
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spelling nottingham-394672020-05-04T18:21:12Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39467/ Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time Harrold, Victoria C. Sharp, James S. An instrument was developed for measuring real time changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets of miscible liquids and other soft materials. Droplets containing glycerol and water were supported on superamphiphobic surfaces and vibrated by applying a short mechanical impulse. Laser light was refracted through the droplets and allowed to fall on the surface of a photodiode. Time dependent variations in the intensity measured by the photodiode during vibration were used to monitor the decay of the droplet oscillations. The frequencies and spectral widths of the droplet vibrational resonances were then obtained from Fourier transforms of these time dependent intensity signals. A recently developed model of viscoelastic droplet vibration was used along with these values and measurements of the drop dimensions to extract the surface tension and viscosity of the drops as they evaporated. Collection of data was automated and values of frequency, spectral width, drop size, surface tension and viscosity were obtained with a time resolution of three seconds over a period of thirty minutes. The values of surface tension and viscosity obtained were shown to be in good agreement with literature values obtained from bulk glycerol/water solutions; thus validating the technique for wider application to other multicomponent liquids and soft matter systems. Royal Society of Chemistry 2016-11-14 Article PeerReviewed Harrold, Victoria C. and Sharp, James S. (2016) Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time. Soft Matter, 12 (42). pp. 8790-8797. ISSN 1744-6848 http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2016/SM/C6SM01901C#!divAbstract doi:10.1039/C6SM01901C doi:10.1039/C6SM01901C
spellingShingle Harrold, Victoria C.
Sharp, James S.
Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title_full Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title_fullStr Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title_full_unstemmed Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title_short Optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
title_sort optovibrometry: tracking changes in the surface tension and viscosity of multicomponent droplets in real-time
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39467/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39467/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39467/