Rough and Tough: How Particle Surface Roughness Affects Liquid Marble Formation and Stability

Sultan U, Kotulla C, Kefle K, Fujii S, Vogel N (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Advanced Science Wiley Open Access

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc

Article Number: 2501378

DOI: 10.1002/advs.202501378

Abstract

Liquid marbles are liquid droplets encased by non-wetting particles. They exhibit elastic and non-sticking properties that enable applications such as sensors, adhesives, miniature reactors, and material carriers. The formation, stability, and properties of liquid marbles depend on the physico-chemical characteristics of the solid particles. This study systematically explores the impact of particle surface roughness on liquid marbles by employing colloidal supraparticles as well-defined model systems. Supraparticles are spherical aggregates of uniform colloidal primary particles, which enable adjusting the characteristic surface roughness by varying the primary particle size. Increasing surface roughness increases the interfacial contact angle, which, in turn, influences the mechanical properties and liquid marble stability. The presence of surface roughness increases the deformation resistance of the liquid marble, which counteracts the spreading of the inner liquid upon mechanical impact, and therefore hinders rupture. The increased contact angle further enables the formation of liquid marbles from increasingly low-surface-tension organic liquids. This study thus provides detailed insights into the structure-property relationships governing the preparation of stable liquid marbles based on particle surface characteristics.

Authors with CRIS profile

Umair Sultan Sonderforschungsbereich 1411/2 Produktgestaltung disperser Systeme (SFB 1411) Nicolas Vogel Lehrstuhl für Interfaces und Partikeltechnologie (LFG)

Involved external institutions

Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT) / 大阪工業大学 JP Japan (JP)

How to cite

APA:

Sultan, U., Kotulla, C., Kefle, K., Fujii, S., & Vogel, N. (2025). Rough and Tough: How Particle Surface Roughness Affects Liquid Marble Formation and Stability. Advanced Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202501378

MLA:

Sultan, Umair, et al. "Rough and Tough: How Particle Surface Roughness Affects Liquid Marble Formation and Stability." Advanced Science (2025).

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