What is it about?
The paper presents a new nanomechanical technique and device to directly measure pull-off compliance for two polymer microparticles during separation in a controllable humid environment. Measurements have shown a good agreement with our predictions based on analytical solutions and numerical simulation. Moreover, the adhesion forces in relation to relative humidity have been investigated using a model that incorporates the effects of surface roughness. Interparticle capillary force influenced by humidity is examined quantitatively.
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Why is it important?
There has been a string of distinguished contributions in the latest literature focusing on the general theory of particle adhesion due to capillary. It is quite surprising that virtually all have focused mainly on the derivation of Laplace pressure and showed limited experimental investigations. Direct interparticle adhesion measurement as varying humidity and roughness is rare, if any.
Perspectives
This manuscript has two distinctive merits that make it to have great potentials in future applications. First, it is scientifically important and technologically timely to address emerging colloids and micro-/nano-particles systems. Second, the new experimental setup for simultaneous measurement of humidity and adhesion will capture a broad range of readers, especially in communities of micro-/nanoparticulate materials and drug delivery.
Dr Isaac LIU
University of Warwick
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Influence of Relative Humidity on Interparticle Capillary Adhesion, Langmuir, October 2021, American Chemical Society (ACS),
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02167.
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