On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface
The self-propulsion of bodies floating in water is of great interest for developing new robotic and intelligent systems at different scales, and whenever possible, Marangoni propulsion is an attractive candidate for the locomotion of untethered micro-robots. Significant cases have been shown using l...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/15/3228 |
| _version_ | 1797432737756348416 |
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| author | Veronica Vespini Sara Coppola Pietro Ferraro |
| author_facet | Veronica Vespini Sara Coppola Pietro Ferraro |
| author_sort | Veronica Vespini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The self-propulsion of bodies floating in water is of great interest for developing new robotic and intelligent systems at different scales, and whenever possible, Marangoni propulsion is an attractive candidate for the locomotion of untethered micro-robots. Significant cases have been shown using liquid and solid surfactants that allow an effective propulsion for bodies floating on water to be achieved. Here, we show for the first time a strategy for activating a twofold functionality where the self-propulsion of a floating body is combined with the formation of a polymer thin film at the water surface. In fact, we demonstrate that by using polymer droplets with an appropriate concentration of solvent and delivering such drops at specific locations onto freely floating objects, it is possible to form “on-the-fly” thin polymer films at the free water surface. By exploiting self-propulsion, a polymer thin film can be formed that could cover quite extensive areas with different shapes depending on the motion of the floating object. This intriguing twice-functionality activated though a single phenomenon, i.e., film formation and related locomotion, could be used in perspective to perform complex operations at water surfaces, such as dynamic liquid packaging, cleaning, and moving away floating particles, monolayer films, or macro-sized objects, as discussed in the text. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:05:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed79e41acf9942bd8139a96b7a402b83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:05:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed79e41acf9942bd8139a96b7a402b832023-12-01T23:07:44ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-08-011415322810.3390/polym14153228On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water SurfaceVeronica Vespini0Sara Coppola1Pietro Ferraro2Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, National Research Council (CNR-ISASI), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, ItalyInstitute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, National Research Council (CNR-ISASI), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, ItalyInstitute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, National Research Council (CNR-ISASI), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, ItalyThe self-propulsion of bodies floating in water is of great interest for developing new robotic and intelligent systems at different scales, and whenever possible, Marangoni propulsion is an attractive candidate for the locomotion of untethered micro-robots. Significant cases have been shown using liquid and solid surfactants that allow an effective propulsion for bodies floating on water to be achieved. Here, we show for the first time a strategy for activating a twofold functionality where the self-propulsion of a floating body is combined with the formation of a polymer thin film at the water surface. In fact, we demonstrate that by using polymer droplets with an appropriate concentration of solvent and delivering such drops at specific locations onto freely floating objects, it is possible to form “on-the-fly” thin polymer films at the free water surface. By exploiting self-propulsion, a polymer thin film can be formed that could cover quite extensive areas with different shapes depending on the motion of the floating object. This intriguing twice-functionality activated though a single phenomenon, i.e., film formation and related locomotion, could be used in perspective to perform complex operations at water surfaces, such as dynamic liquid packaging, cleaning, and moving away floating particles, monolayer films, or macro-sized objects, as discussed in the text.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/15/3228filminterfaceliquid packagingMarangoni propulsionpolymerspreading |
| spellingShingle | Veronica Vespini Sara Coppola Pietro Ferraro On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface Polymers film interface liquid packaging Marangoni propulsion polymer spreading |
| title | On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface |
| title_full | On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface |
| title_fullStr | On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface |
| title_full_unstemmed | On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface |
| title_short | On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface |
| title_sort | on the fly formation of polymer film at water surface |
| topic | film interface liquid packaging Marangoni propulsion polymer spreading |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/15/3228 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT veronicavespini ontheflyformationofpolymerfilmatwatersurface AT saracoppola ontheflyformationofpolymerfilmatwatersurface AT pietroferraro ontheflyformationofpolymerfilmatwatersurface |