Contact Angles, Wetting, and Electrowetting in Crystallizing Colloidal Suspensions and Their Application to Microfluidics

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT CTS-9985929 A. Gast/Stanford University The important interfacial properties of suspensions of colloidal crystals and liquids will be investigated. The interfacial behavior of suspensions is of central importance in many systems such as inks, paints and ceramics where the final product depends on wetting or interaction with a substrate. The primary goal is to understand how the phase behavior of a suspension influences its wetting and surface tension properties. These interfacial properties will be manipulated via an electric field to produce unique and controllable contact angles and wetting processes. This is a program that combines colloid and surface science, statistical mechanics, electrodynamics and microfluidics. The study focuses on understanding the interplay between colloidal interactions, structure, and suspension interfacial phenomena. The work will be extended to use patterned electrodes to spatially modulate colloidal wetting processes. The spatially modulated electrocapillary behavior of colloidal suspensions will be exploited for interesting and novel microfluidic applications.