Issue 24, 2018

Active hole generation in a liquid droplet dissolving into a binary solvent

Abstract

In liquid–liquid dissolution, the critical point of phase separation is determined by the temperature. When the solvent consists of multi-components, in contrast, the mole fractions in the solvent also take on the role of control parameter. In this study an ionic liquid dissolves into a binary solvent composed of ethanol and water. It is found in this system that, near the critical point, a hole is spontaneously created in the droplet of the ionic liquid. The creation of the hole is initiated by a mutual interaction between the concentrations of the ionic liquid and the binary solvent via their affinity. A spatial inhomogeneity of the interfacial tension is induced through an amplification of fluctuation in the concentration due to an instability mechanism, and causes the Marangoni effect to create the hole. The hole moves inside the droplet and consequently leads to the motion of the droplet. The present system provides not only a new type of dissolution process but also a peculiar example of active matter realized in a liquid droplet.

Graphical abstract: Active hole generation in a liquid droplet dissolving into a binary solvent

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Feb 2018
Accepted
28 Apr 2018
First published
10 May 2018

Soft Matter, 2018,14, 4952-4957

Active hole generation in a liquid droplet dissolving into a binary solvent

N. Oikawa, K. Fukagawa and R. Kurita, Soft Matter, 2018, 14, 4952 DOI: 10.1039/C8SM00357B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements