Langmuir, Vol.34, No.47, 14294-14301, 2018
Viscoelastic Particle Laden Interface Inhibits Coffee-Ring Formation
We investigate the evaporation-driven pattern formation in drying drops containing mixtures of polystyrene and soft microgel particles. The well-known coffee-rings that form when drops containing polystyrene particles are dried can be completely undone in the presence of a small quantity of soft colloids. The addition of soft colloids facilitates the adsorption of polystyiene particles to the water vapor interface leading to a steep increase in their concentration and also imparts viscoelasticity to the interface. Time-resolved video microscopy is used to conclusively show the formation of a gel-like particle laden interface. The mean square displacement of the polystyrene particles adsorbed to the interface confirms their immobile nature at the interface. This viscoelastic interface almost prevents the bulk flow-assisted migration of polystyrene particles toward the drop edge, leading to the suppression of coffee-ring effect and the formation of uniform particulate deposits.