No abstract

The liquid phase response of quartz crystal microbalances (QCM) with a thin coating (~9 µm) of epoxy resin with and without a carbon nanoparticles top layer is reported. The nanoparticles convert the epoxy surface to a superhydrophobic one with a high static contact angle (~151º-155º) and low contact angle hysteresis (~1º-3.7º) where droplets of water are in the suspended Cassie-Baxter state. The frequency decrease of the fully immersed QCM with the superhydrophobic surface is less than with only epoxy layer, thus indicating a decoupling of the QCM response. A wettability transition to a liquid penetrating into the surface roughness state (for droplets a high contact angle hysteresis Wenzel state) was triggered using a molarity of ethanol droplet test (MED) and electrowetting; the MED approach caused some surface damage. The electrowetting induced transition caused a frequency decrease of 739 Hz at a critical voltage of ~100 V compared to the QCM in air. This critical voltage correlates to a contact angle decrease of 26º and a high contact angle hysteresis state in droplet experiments. These experiments provide a proof-of-concept that QCMs can be used to sense wetting state transitions and not only mass attachments or changes in viscosity-density products of liquids. PACS:68.08Bc -wetting in liquid solid interfaces; 77.65Fs -quartz crystal resonators

In recent years extensive work has been focused onto using superhydrophobic surfaces for drag reduction applications. Superhydrophobic surfaces retain a gas layer, called a plastron, when submerged underwater in the Cassie-Baxter state with water in contact with the tops of surface roughness features. In this state the plastron allows slip to occur across the surface which results in a drag reduction. In this work we report flexible and relatively large area superhydrophobic surfaces produced using two different methods: Large roughness features were created by electrodeposition on copper meshes; Small roughness features were created by embedding carbon nanoparticles (soot) into Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both samples were made into cylinders with a diameter under 12 mm. To characterize the samples, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and confocal microscope images were taken. The confocal microscope images were taken with each sample submerged in water to show the extent of the plastron. The hydrophobized electrodeposited copper mesh cylinders showed drag reductions of up to 32% when comparing the superhydrophobic state with a wetted out state. The soot covered cylinders achieved a 30% drag reduction when comparing the superhydrophobic state to a plain cylinder. These results were obtained for turbulent flows with Reynolds numbers 10,000 to 32,500.

Repeatable patient positioning is key to minimising the burden on planning radiotherapy treatment. There are very few materials commercially available which are suitable for use in all common imaging and treatment modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-Ray computed tomography (CT) and radiotherapy. In this article, we present several such materials based on woven natural fibres embedded in a range of different resin materials which are suitable for such applications. By investigating a range of resins and natural fibre materials in combination and evaluating their performance in terms of MRI and X-Ray imaging, we show that a woven cotton material impregnated with a two-part epoxy resin provides a 15% improvement in passage of X-Rays and has no impact on the MRI signal (unlike the 40% MRI signal attenuation from carbon fibre), whilst also retaining a flexural modulus up to 71% of that of carbon fibre. These results demonstrate that natural fibre composites produced using such materials provide desirable properties for use in patient support and positioning devices for multi-modal imaging, without the need to significantly compromise on the strength of the material.

SummaryIn the wetting of a solid by a liquid it is often assumed that the substrate is rigid. However, for an elastic substrate the rigidity depends on the cube of its thickness and so reduces rapidly as the substrate becomes thinner as it approaches becoming a thin sheet. In such circumstances, it has been shown that the capillary forces caused by a contacting droplet of a liquid can shape the solid rather than the solid shaping the liquid. A substrate can be bent and folded as a (pinned) droplet evaporates or even instantaneously and spontaneously wrapped on contact with a droplet. When this effect is used to create three dimensional shapes from initially flat sheets, the effect is called capillary origami or droplet wrapping.In this work, we consider how the conditions for the spontaneous, capillary induced, folding of a thin ribbon substrate might be altered by a rigid surface structure that, for a rigid substrate, would be expected to create Cassie–Baxter and Wenzel effects. For smooth thin substrates, droplet wrapping can occur for all liquids, including those for which the Young’s law contact angle (defined by the interfacial tensions) is greater than 90° and which would therefore normally be considered relatively hydrophobic. However, consideration of the balance between bending and interfacial energies suggests that the tendency for droplet wrapping can be suppressed for some liquids by providing the flexible solid surface with a rigid topographic structure. In general, it is known that when a liquid interacts with such a structure it can either fully penetrate the structure (the Wenzel case) or it can bridge between the asperities of the structure (the Cassie–Baxter case).In this report, we show theoretically that droplet wrapping should occur with both types of solid–liquid contact. We also derive a condition for the transition between the Cassie–Baxter and Wenzel type droplet wrapping and relate it to the same transition condition known to apply to superhydrophobic surfaces. The results are given for both droplets being wrapped by thin ribbons and for solid grains encapsulating droplets to form liquid marbles.