Liquid marbles as thermally robust droplets: coating-assisted Leidenfrost-like effect

Abstract

The Leidenfrost effect—prolonged evaporation of droplets on a superheated surface—happens only when the surface temperature is above a certain transitional value. Here, we show that specially engineered droplets—liquid marbles—can exhibit a similar effect at any superheated temperatures (up to 465 °C tested in our experiment) without a transition. Very possibly, this phenomenon is due to the fact that liquid marbles are droplets coated with microparticles and these microparticles help levitate the liquid core and maintain an insulation layer between the liquid and the superheated surface.