Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - 10:16 AM
Room 8a (McKimmon Conference Center)
336

Particles Driven up the Wall by Bursting Bubbles

Alex Nikolov and Darsh T. Wasan. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL

An investigation of the novel phenomenon of particles driven up the wet wall by bursting bubbles at an air/water interface covered with the hydrophobic nano-sized particles is reported. Experiments have shown that the bubbles bursting at the interface give rise to the local surface pressure gradient which pushes the particles to climb up and to coat the wall of the vessel. A qualitative model based on the lubrication approach to estimate the height and speed at which the particles climb up the wall yields values which are in fair agreement with the experimental measurements. The effects of liquid viscosity, electrolyte strength and particle wettability are also examined.