Capillary interactions among spherical particles at curved liquid interfaces
Abstract
We study the effect of interfacial curvature on the binding energy and forces exerted on small spherical particles that adsorb on an interface between two immiscible liquids. When the interface has anisotropic curvature, the constant-contact-angle condition at the particle-fluid boundary requires a deformation of the interface. Focusing on the case of an initially cylindrical interface, we predict the shape after a spherical particle binds. We then calculate the energy of