Toward an Understanding of Magnetic Displacement of Floating Diamagnetic Bodies, I: Experimental Findings.

Diamagnetic objects (polymer and metallic plates and spheres, ceramic beads, and liquid marbles), floating on water, and a variety of organic liquids may be driven by a steady magnetic field of 0.1 T, registered at the water-vapor surface. Diamagnetic bodies are attracted to the magnet, when the apparent contact angle at the solid/liquid interface is obtuse and repelled from the magnet, when the angle is acute. Cold plasma-treated polyolefin rafts and spheres, demonstrating underwater floating, are repelled by a permanent magnet. Addition of a surfactant to the water, as well as cold plasma treatment of the polyolefin bodies, can turn the attraction into the repulsion. We conjecture that the observed effects are caused by the interplay of two main phenomena. The first is the gravity, which induces sliding of the particle on the deformed liquid/vapor interface (the Moses effect). The second cause is the hysteresis of the contact angle at the bodies' boundaries.

Superposition of Translational and Rotational Motions under Self-Propulsion of Liquid Marbles Filled with Aqueous Solutions of Camphor.

Self-locomotion of liquid marbles, coated with lycopodium or fumed fluorosilica powder, filled with a saturated aqueous solution of camphor and placed on a water/vapor interface is reported. Self-propelled marbles demonstrated a complicated motion, representing a superposition of translational and rotational motions. Oscillations of the velocity of the center of mass and the angular velocity of marbles, occurring in the antiphase, were registered and explained qualitatively. Self-propulsion occurs because of the Marangoni solutocapillary flow inspired by the adsorption of camphor (evaporated from the liquid marble) by the water surface. Scaling laws describing translational and rotational motions are proposed and checked. The rotational motion of marbles arises from the asymmetry of the field of the Marangoni stresses because of the adsorption of camphor evaporated from marbles.

Under-Liquid Self-Assembly of Submerged Buoyant Polymer Particles.

The self-assembly of submerged cold-plasma-treated polyethylene beads (PBs) is reported. The plasma-treated immersed millimetrically sized PBs formed well-ordered 2D quasicrystalline structures. The submerged floating of "light" (buoyant) PBs is possible because of the energy gain achieved by the wetting of the high-energy plasma-treated polymer surface prevailing over the energy loss due to the upward climb of the liquid over the beads. The capillary "immersion" attraction force is responsible for the observed self-assembly. The observed 2D quasicrystalline structures demonstrate "dislocations" and "point defects". The mechanical vibration of self-assembled rafts built of PBs leads to the healing of point defects. The immersion capillary lateral force governs the self-assembly, whereas the elastic force is responsible for the repulsion of polymer beads.

Superoleophobic Surfaces Obtained via Hierarchical Metallic Meshes.

Hierarchical metallic surfaces demonstrating pronounced water and oil repellence are reported. The surfaces were manufactured with stainless-steel microporous meshes, which were etched with perfluorononanoic acid. As a result, a hierarchical relief was created, characterized by roughness at micro- and sub-microscales. Pronounced superoleophobicity was registered with regard to canola, castor, sesame, flax, crude (petroleum), and engine oils. Relatively high sliding angles were recorded for 5 µL turpentine, olive, and silicone oil droplets. The stability of the Cassie-like air trapping wetting state, established with water/ethanol solutions, is reported. The omniphobicity of the surfaces is due to the interplay of their hierarchical relief and surface fluorination.

Interaction of cold radiofrequency plasma with seeds of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).

The impact of cold radiofrequency air plasma on the wetting properties and water imbibition of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) was studied. The influence of plasma on wetting of a cotyledon and seed coat (testa) was elucidated. It was established that cold plasma treatment leads to hydrophilization of the cotyledon and tissues constituting the testa when they are separately exposed to plasma. By contrast, when the entire bean is exposed to plasma treatment, only the external surface of the bean is hydrophilized by the cold plasma. Water imbibition by plasma-treated beans was studied. Plasma treatment markedly accelerates the water absorption. The crucial role of a micropyle in the process of water imbibition was established. It was established that the final percentage of germination was almost the same in the cases of plasma-treated, untreated, and vacuum-pumped samples. However, the speed of germination was markedly higher for the plasma-treated samples. The influence of the vacuum pumping involved in the cold plasma treatment on the germination was also clarified.

Submerged (under-liquid) floating of light objects.

A counterintuitive submerged floating of objects lighter than the supporting liquid was observed. Polymer plates with dimensions on the order of magnitude of the capillary length were hydrophilized with cold air plasma were floated in an "under-liquid" regime (totally covered by liquid) when immersed in water or glycerol. Profiles of liquid surfaces curved by polymer plates are measured. We propose a model explaining the phenomenon. The floating of Janus plates is reported.

Non-stick droplet surgery with a superhydrophobic scalpel.

Cutting of nonstick droplets with a double-faced superhydrophobic blade is reported first. The process of manufacturing the superhydrophobic scalpel is presented. Cutting of water marbles and droplets deposited on a superhydrophobic surface is possible when the velocity of the blade is higher than a certain critical value. An estimation of the critical blade velocity coinciding with experimental findings is presented. Cutting of Janus and glycerol-based marbles is discussed. Coalescence of glycerol nonstick drops and marbles under cutting is treated.

Janus droplets: liquid marbles coated with dielectric/semiconductor particles.

The manufacturing of water droplets wrapped with two different powders, carbon black (semiconductor) and polytetrafluoroethylene (dielectric), is presented. Droplets composed of two hemispheres (Janus droplets) characterized by various physical and chemical properties are reported first. Watermelon-like striped liquid marbles are reported. Janus droplets remained stable on solid and liquid supports and could be activated with an electric field.

On the nature of the friction between nonstick droplets and solid substrates.

The lateral rolling of nonstick water and glycerol droplets deposited on solid substrates inclined at the sliding angles was studied. Droplets deposited on lotuslike water-repellent surfaces and liquid marbles (powder-coated droplets) deposited on solid substrates demonstrated similar behavior. The motion of both droplets and marbles featured friction that is far from Amonton type. The sliding angles of nonstick drops are sensitive to the "history" of a drop on the substrate. The friction of glycerol marbles is governed by viscous dissipation, whereas the rolling of water marbles is dictated by adhesion forces acting within the contact area.

Effects of Atmospheric Plasma Corona Discharges on Soil Bacteria Viability.

Crop contamination by soil-borne pathogenic microorganisms often leads to serious infection outbreaks. Plant protection requires disinfection of agricultural lands. The chemical and the physical disinfection procedures have several disadvantages, including an irreversible change in the soil ecosystem. Plasma, the "fourth state of matter" is defined as an ionized gas containing an equal number of negatively and positively charged particles. Cold-plasma technology with air or oxygen as the working gas generates reactive oxygen species, which are found to efficiently eradicate bacteria. In this study, we examined the effect of atmospheric plasma corona discharges on soil bacteria viability. Soil that was exposed to plasma for 60 s resulted in bacterial reduction by two orders of magnitude, from 1.1 × 105 to 2.3 × 103 cells g-1 soil. Exposure for a longer period of 5 min did not lead to further significant reduction in bacterial concentration (a final reduction of only 2.5 orders of magnitude). The bacterial viability was evaluated using a colorimetric assay based on the bacterial hydrogenases immediately after exposure and at selected times during 24 h. The result showed no recovery in the bacterial viability. Plasma discharged directly on bacteria that were isolated from the soil resulted in a reduction by four orders of magnitude in the bacterial concentration compared to untreated isolated bacteria: 2.6 × 10-3 and 1.7 × 10-7, respectively. The plasma-resistant bacteria were found to be related to the taxonomic phylum Firmicutes (98.5%) and comprised the taxonomic orders Bacillales (95%) and Clostridiales (2%). To our knowledge, this is the first study of soil bacteria eradication using plasma corona discharges.

On the mechanism of floating and sliding of liquid marbles.

The mechanisms of floating and sliding of liquid marbles are studied. Liquid marbles containing CaCl(2) and marbles containing NaOH water solutions float on water containing Na(2)CO(3) and an alcoholic solution of phenolphthalein with no chemical reaction. Sliding of liquid marbles, consisting of NaOH water solutions, on polymer substrates coated with phenolphthalein is studied as well. No chemical reaction is observed. These observations supply direct experimental evidence for the suggestion that interfaces are separated by an air layer when marbles roll on solid substrates. It is concluded that a liquid marble rests on hydrophobic particles coating the liquid. In contrast, drops containing an NaOH water solution sliding on superhydrophobic surfaces coated with phenolphthalein leave a colored trace. The mechanism of low-friction sliding of drops deposited on superhydrophobic surfaces and liquid marbles turns out to be quite different: there is no direct contact between liquid and solid in the case of marbles' motion.

Formation of Hierarchical Porous Films with Breath-Figures Self-Assembly Performed on Oil-Lubricated Substrates.

Hierarchical honeycomb patterns were manufactured with breath-figures self-assembly by drop-casting on the silicone oil-lubricated glass substrates. Silicone oil promoted spreading of the polymer solution. The process was carried out with industrial grade polystyrene and polystyrene with molecular mass M w = 35 , 000 g m o l . Both polymers gave rise to patterns, built of micro and nano-scaled pores. The typical diameter of the nanopores was established as 125 nm. The mechanism of the formation of hierarchical patterns was suggested. Ordering of the pores was quantified with the Voronoi tessellations and calculation of the Voronoi entropy. The Voronoi entropy for the large scale pattern was S v o r = 0.6 - 0.9 , evidencing the ordering of pores. Measurement of the apparent contact angles evidenced the Cassie-Baxter wetting regime of the porous films.

Author Correction: Camphor-Engine-Driven Micro-Boat Guides Evolution of Chemical Gardens.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Self-Propulsion of Water-Supported Liquid Marbles Filled with Sulfuric Acid.

Self-propulsion of liquid marbles filled with sulfuric acid and coated with hydrophobic fluorosilica powder on a water surface is reported. The prolonged self-propulsion of marbles occurs over a couple of minutes with a typical velocity of the center of mass of the marble being [Formula: see text]. The shell of the marble is not uniform, resulting in the asymmetric absorption of water by a marble, giving rise to the nonuniform thermal field within its volume. The maximum temperature reached at the liquid marble surface was 70 °C. The self-propelled marble increased its mass by one-third during the course of its motion. The increase in mass followed by the marbles' heating is due to the adsorption of water vapor by their surface, which is permeable to gases. This gives rise to an exothermic chemical reaction, which in turn gives rise to Marangoni thermo-capillary flow driving the marble. Thermo-physical analysis of the problem is presented. The role of soluto-capillary flow in self-propulsion is negligible.

Droplet behavior on flat and textured surfaces: co-occurrence of Deegan outward flow with Marangoni solute instability.

It is demonstrated experimentally that the solution droplet behavior is governed by the co-occurrence of outward hydrodynamic and surface tension (solute Marangoni) induced flows. Potassium ferrocyanide allows the effective visualization of the processes taking place in the droplet. Wetting properties of the substrate govern the shape evolution of the evaporated droplet. Quantitative estimation of the wetting properties of textured polymer surface is presented.

Why do pigeon feathers repel water? Hydrophobicity of pennae, Cassie-Baxter wetting hypothesis and Cassie-Wenzel capillarity-induced wetting transition.

Wetting of pigeon feathers has been studied. It was demonstrated that the Cassie-Baxter wetting regime is inherent for pigeon pennae. The water drop, supported by network formed by barbs and barbules, sits partially on air pockets. Small static apparent angle hysteresis justifies the Cassie-Baxter wetting hypothesis. A twofold structure of a feather favors large contact angles and provides its water repellency. Cassie-Wenzel transition has been observed under drop evaporation, when drop radius becomes small enough for capillarity-induced water penetration into the protrusions, formed by barbules.

Camphor-Engine-Driven Micro-Boat Guides Evolution of Chemical Gardens.

A micro-boat self-propelled by a camphor engine, carrying seed crystals of FeCl3, promoted the evolution of chemical gardens when placed on the surface of aqueous solutions of potassium hexacyanoferrate. Inverse chemical gardens (growing from the top downward) were observed. The growth of the "inverse" chemical gardens was slowed down with an increase in the concentration of the potassium hexacyanoferrate. Heliciform precipitates were formed under the self-propulsion of the micro-boat. A phenomenological model, satisfactorily describing the self-locomotion of the camphor-driven micro-boat, is introduced and checked.

Plasma treatment switches the regime of wetting and floating of pepper seeds.

Cold radiofrequency plasma treatment modified wetting and floating regimes of pepper seeds. The wetting regime of plasma-treated seeds was switched from the Wenzel-like partial wetting to the complete wetting. No hydrophobic recovery following the plasma treatment was registered. Environmental scanning electron microscopy of the fine structure of the (three-phase) triple line observed with virgin and plasma-treated seeds is reported. Plasma treatment promoted rapid sinking of pepper seeds placed on the water/air interface. Plasma treatment did not influence the surface topography of pepper seeds, while charged them electrically. Electrostatic repulsion of floating plasma-treated seeds was observed. The surface charge density was estimated from the data extracted from floating of charged seeds and independently with the electrostatic pendulum as σ≈1-2µC/m2.

Micrometrically scaled textured metallic hydrophobic interfaces validate the Cassie-Baxter wetting hypothesis.

The possibility of forming a hydrophobic metallic interface is shown when it is micrometrically textured. On such surface obtained by gold coating the polymer honeycomb template, the apparent contact angle of water was observed to be close to or greater than 90 degrees . The metal hydrophobicity is explained by trapping air inside pores of pattern according to the Cassie-Baxter wetting model. The agreement between calculated and observed values of the apparent contact angle justifies the applicability of this model in the present case. Formation of the acute local (Young) angle on the pore surface is provided by its concave form.

Self-assembly in evaporated polymer solutions: influence of the solution concentration.

Amorphous polymers were dissolved in chlorinated organic solvents and deposited on thin horizontal substrates. The solutions with various concentrations of polymers were deposited and evaporated under ambient conditions in a slow air current. Self-assembled oriented mesoscopically scaled patterns were observed. The patterns were studied with optical and atomic force microscopy. The concentration of the solution exerts a decisive influence on the mesoscopic cell characteristic dimension. Cell dimensions grow linearly with the polymer solution concentration for all kinds of tested polymers, chlorinated solvents and substrates. The dependence could be explained by a physical mechanism, based on the mass transport instability occurring under the intensive evaporation of the solvent. In situ FTIR study of the process was performed first. It was established with FTIR spectroscopy that film porosity is not due to water droplet condensation under evaporation.