Interfacial nonequilibrium and Bénard-Marangoni instability of a liquid-vapor system

From dynamic self-assembly to networked chemical systems

Although dynamic self-assembly, DySA, is a relatively new area of research, the past decade has brought numerous demonstrations of how various types of components - on scales from (macro)molecular to macroscopic - can be arranged into ordered structures thriving in non-equilibrium, steady states. At the same time, none of these dynamic assemblies has so far proven practically relevant, prompting questions about the field's prospects and ultimate objectives. The main thesis of this Review is that formation of dynamic assemblies cannot be an end in itself - instead, we should think more ambitiously of using such assemblies as control elements (reconfigurable catalysts, nanomachines, etc.) of larger, networked systems directing sequences of chemical reactions or assembly tasks. Such networked systems would be inspired by biology but intended to operate in environments and conditions incompatible with living matter (e.g., in organic solvents, elevated temperatures, etc.). To realize this vision, we need to start considering not only the interactions mediating dynamic self-assembly of individual components, but also how components of different types could coexist and communicate within larger, multicomponent ensembles. Along these lines, the review starts with the discussion of the conceptual foundations of self-assembly in equilibrium and non-equilibrium regimes. It discusses key examples of interactions and phenomena that can provide the basis for various DySA modalities (e.g., those driven by light, magnetic fields, flows, etc.). It then focuses on the recent examples where organization of components in steady states is coupled to other processes taking place in the system (catalysis, formation of dynamic supramolecular materials, control of chirality, etc.). With these examples of functional DySA, we then look forward and consider conditions that must be fulfilled to allow components of multiple types to coexist, function, and communicate with one another within the networked DySA systems of the future. As the closing examples show, such systems are already appearing heralding new opportunities - and, to be sure, new challenges - for DySA research.

Rayleigh-Taylor instability of viscous fluids with phase change

Film boiling on a horizontal surface is a typical example of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. During the film boiling, phase changes take place at the interface, and thus heat and mass transfer must be taken into consideration in the stability analysis. Moreover, since the vapor layer is not quite thick, a viscous flow must be analyzed. Existing studies assumed equal kinematic viscosities of two fluids, and/or considered thin viscous fluids. The purpose of this study is to derive the analytical dispersion relation of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for more general conditions. The two fluids have different properties. The thickness of the vapor layer is finite, but the liquid layer is thick enough to be nearly semi-infinite in view of perturbation. Initially, the vapor is in equilibrium with the liquid at the interface, and the direction of heat transfer is from the vapor side to the liquid side. In this case, the phase change has a stabilizing effect on the growth rate of the interface. When the vapor layer is thin, there is a coupled effect of the vapor viscosity, phase change, and vapor thickness on the critical wave number. For the other limit of a thick vapor, both the liquid and vapor viscosities influence the critical wave number. Finally, the most unstable wavelength is investigated. When the vapor layer is thin, the most unstable wavelength is not affected by phase change. When the vapor layer is thick, however, it increases with the increasing rate of phase change.

Instabilities in a horizontal liquid layer in cocurrent gas flow with an evaporating interface

The problem of a two-layer system consisting of a horizontal liquid layer in contact with its own vapor is considered. The liquid layer is bounded by a rigid wall from below, and phase change can occur at the interface. The flow of the vapor phase is driven by a constant pressure gradient in the streamwise direction. We have taken into account the effects of buoyancy, thermocapillarity, evaporation, and the dynamics of the vapor phase. A full linear stability analysis is performed using a Chebyshev spectral method. The influences of evaporation effect and the interfacial shear on the Rayleigh instability and the Marangoni instability have been studied. The results show that both the evaporation and the interfacial shear play important roles in the stability of the system.

Bénard instabilities in a binary-liquid layer evaporating into an inert gas

A linear stability analysis is performed for a horizontal layer of a binary liquid of which solely the solute evaporates into an inert gas, the latter being assumed to be insoluble in the liquid. In particular, a water-ethanol system in contact with air is considered, with the evaporation of water being neglected (which can be justified for a certain humidity of the air). External constraints on the system are introduced by imposing fixed "ambient" mass fraction and temperature values at a certain effective distance above the free liquid-gas interface. The temperature is the same as at the bottom of the liquid layer, where, besides, a fixed mass fraction of the solute is presumed to be maintained. Proceeding from a (quasi-)stationary reference solution, neutral (monotonic) stability curves are calculated in terms of solutal/thermal Marangoni/Rayleigh numbers as functions of the wavenumber for different values of the ratio of the gas and liquid layer thicknesses. The results are also presented in terms of the critical values of the liquid layer thickness as a function of the thickness of the gas layer. The solutal and thermal Rayleigh and Marangoni effects are compared to one another. For a water-ethanol mixture of 10wt.% ethanol, it appears that the solutal Marangoni effect is by far the most important instability mechanism. Furthermore, its global action can be described within a Pearson-like model, with an appropriately defined Biot number depending on the wavenumber. On the other hand, it is also shown that, if taken into account, water evaporation has only minor quantitative consequences upon the results for this predominant, solutal Marangoni mechanism.

Stability of evaporating water when heated through the vapor and the liquid phases

The stability of a water layer of uniform thickness held in a two-dimensional container of finite or semi-infinite extent is examined using linear stability theory. The liquid-vapor interface can be heated both through the liquid and through the vapor, as previously experimentally reported. The need to introduce a heat transfer coefficient is eliminated by introducing statistical rate theory (SRT) to predict the evaporation flux. There are no fitting or undefined parameters in the expression for the evaporation flux. The energy transport is parametrized in terms of the evaporation number, Eev, that for a given experimental circumstance can be predicted. The critical Marangoni number for the finite, Macf, and for the semi-infinite system, Mac(infinity), can be quantitatively predicted. Experiments in which water evaporated from a stainless-steel funnel and from a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) funnel into its vapor have been previously reported. Marangoni convection was observed in the experiments that used the stainless-steel funnel but not with the PMMA funnel even though the Marangoni number for the PMMA funnel was more than 27,000. The SRT-based stability theory indicates that the critical value of the Marangoni number for the experiments with the PMMA funnel was greater than the experimental value of the Marangoni number in each case; thus, no Marangoni convection was predicted to result from an instability. The observed convection with the stainless-steel funnel resulted from a temperature gradient imposed along the interface.

Interfacial instability in bilayer films due to solvent evaporation

We perform a linear analysis of the Marangoni instability of a deformable interface between two fluid layers of finite depths, submitted to a gradient of solvent concentration induced by evaporation at the top layer, in the presence of convective as well as diffusive solvent transport. We discuss, in turn, the influence on the onset of the instability of the solvent evaporation rate, of the ratios of viscosity and diffusivity, of the rate of convection and of the layer depths. Qualitative comparison with experimental observations of spin-coating processes of solution of two immiscible polymers are then performed, yielding satisfactory agreement.

Improved 1.5-sided model for the weakly nonlinear study of Bénard–Marangoni instabilities in an evaporating liquid layer

Bénard-Marangoni instability, with coupled gravity and surface tension effects, in an evaporating liquid layer surmounted by its vapor and an inert gas is investigated theoretically. We show that this system can be described by a model that consists in the liquid layer equations plus the diffusion equation for the vapor in the gas (the so-called 1.5-sided model) and that this model is equivalent to a one-sided model when the vapor mass fraction field can be considered as quasi-stationary, provided that the equivalent Biot number is a nonlocal function of the interface temperature. A comparison of weakly nonlinear results for the 1.5-sided model with a previous one-sided model [M. Dondlinger, J. Margerit, P.C. Dauby, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 283 (2) (2005) 522-532] that considered a Biot number depending on the wavenumber evaluated at the threshold is performed. Very good agreement is found between both models. For this reason, the present analysis can also be considered as a detailed theoretical justification for the use of a one-sided model in the study of evaporative thermoconvection.

Surface-tension-driven instabilities of a pure liquid layer evaporating into an inert gas

A theoretical model of the evaporation of a pure liquid layer is developed. We focus on the influence of an inert gaseous component, in addition to vapor, on surface-tension-driven Bénard instabilities. It is assumed that the gas phase is perfectly mixed at some distance from the liquid-gas interface (given composition, pressure, and temperature). If this distance is not much larger than the liquid layer thickness, it is shown that a reduction of the full two-layer problem to a one-layer problem is possible, provided the evaporation rate is not too large. An analytical expression is given for the corresponding dimensionless heat transfer coefficient (a generalized, wavenumber-dependent Biot number) at the evaporating interface. The approach is validated through a comparison with a direct numerical resolution of the full two-layer problem.

Weakly nonlinear study of Marangoni instabilities in an evaporating liquid layer

We propose a theoretical study of Marangoni driven convection in an evaporating liquid layer surmounted by an inert gas-vapor mixture. After reduction of the full two-layer problem to a one-sided model we use a Galerkin-Eckhaus method leading to a finite set of amplitude equations for the weakly nonlinear analysis of the problem. We analyze the stability of the roll, square, and hexagonal patterns emerging above the linear stability threshold for a water-air and for an ethanol-air system.

Crystallization and chain formation in liquid drops

Colloidal crystals are easily formed in liquid drops and thin films upon evaporation. In this study we use spherical paramagnetic beads, which make it possible to manipulate them by an external magnetic field. We show that the hydrophilic beads position themselves at a distance from the contact line so that they barely touch the water-air interface. Upon applying a magnetic field, the magnetic beads can either arrange themselves in a two-dimensional repulsive lattice or form attractive vertical chains, depending on the contact angle of the drop. We also demonstrate that the vertical chains' position from the contact line is quantized and depends on the number of beads in the chain.