Issue 41, 2021

Tunable coffee-ring formation of halloysite nanotubes by evaporating sessile drops

Abstract

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are one-dimensional clay nanomaterials with a length of 200–1000 nm and a diameter of ∼50 nm. Understanding the self-assembly behavior of such unique nanoparticles is important to develop their applications in functional devices. In this study, the “coffee-ring” patterns of HNTs are investigated which are formed by evaporation of the sessile droplets of HNT aqueous dispersion on different substrates. The coffee-ring pattern with various dimensions was characterized using a polarizing microscope (POM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a 3D optical profilometer. The diameter, height, and area of the coffee-ring patterns depend on the concentration of HNT dispersion, the droplet volume, and surface wettability. POM and SEM results suggested that the nanotubes were highly ordered in the edge and the middle of the coffee-ring. The coffee-ring effect of HNTs could be suppressed by increasing the evaporation temperature of substrates or adding polymer additives. In addition, multiple-ring patterns consistent with protein rings surrounding HNT rings were formed, which can be utilized to detect the presence of proteins in biological samples. This work illustrated the relationship between the formation of coffee-ring patterns and the experimental conditions, which provided an additional research chance and allowed application development for HNTs using the liquid droplet self-assembly.

Graphical abstract: Tunable coffee-ring formation of halloysite nanotubes by evaporating sessile drops

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Aug 2021
Accepted
18 Sep 2021
First published
20 Sep 2021

Soft Matter, 2021,17, 9514-9527

Tunable coffee-ring formation of halloysite nanotubes by evaporating sessile drops

H. Liu, Y. Wang, Y. Luo, M. Guo, Y. Feng and M. Liu, Soft Matter, 2021, 17, 9514 DOI: 10.1039/D1SM01150B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements