The application of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to the study of the evaporation of sessile droplets is reported. The evaporation of a homologous series of light alcohols, from the surface of an oscillating quartz crystal, has been investigated. The droplet evaporation process is observed to cause reproducible, characteristic changes in crystal oscillation frequency that are indicative of the complex thermophysical phenomena occurring at both the liquid-vapor and crystal-fluid interfaces. The influence of surface morphology on the frequency responses during the evaporation process is understood in the framework of the perturbation theory of surfaces of slight roughness and random corrugation in the low viscosity limit. The experimental data are understood in terms of the radial sensitivity of the QCM S(r,φ) via the deduction of the areal retreat speed vr. The extreme modes of droplet evaporation, associated with constant contact area and constant contact angle, are identifiable from the observed frequency responses. The trend of characteristic frequency responses observed is consistent with surface-tension driven convection effects, which are often responsible for fluid-vapor interface phenomena.

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