Ring stains in the presence of electromagnetohydrodynamic interactions

Efficient electrochemomechanical energy conversion in nanochannels grafted with end-charged polyelectrolyte brushes at medium and high salt concentration

We develop a theory to study the generation of the streaming potential and the resulting electrochemomechanical energy conversion (ECMEC) in the presence of pressure-driven transport in nanochannels grafted with end-charged polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes. Our theory gives a thermodynamically self-consistent coupled description of the PE-brush and the electrostatics of the electric double layer (EDL) induced by the PE charges. The end-charged brushes localize the maximum EDL charge density away from the wall, thereby enabling a larger magnitude of pressure-driven transport to stream the ions downstream. This effect is retarded by the drag force imparted by the brushes as well as by the enhanced electroosmotic transport in a direction opposite to the pressure-driven transport. An interplay of these three issues leads to highly non-trivial electrohydrodynamic transport that eventually allows us to converge on appropriate properties of the brushes (e.g., grafting density and the number of monomers) that lead to the generation of a significantly larger streaming potential and a much improved efficiency of the ECMEC as compared to the brush-free nanochannels particularly at medium and high salt concentrations.

Filling of charged cylindrical capillaries

We provide an analytical model to describe the filling dynamics of horizontal cylindrical capillaries having charged walls. The presence of surface charge leads to two distinct effects: It leads to a retarding electrical force on the liquid column and also causes a reduced viscous drag force because of decreased velocity gradients at the wall. Both these effects essentially stem from the spontaneous formation of an electric double layer (EDL) and the resulting streaming potential caused by the net capillary-flow-driven advection of ionic species within the EDL. Our results demonstrate that filling of charged capillaries also exhibits the well-known linear and Washburn regimes witnessed for uncharged capillaries, although the filling rate is always lower than that of the uncharged capillary. We attribute this to a competitive success of the lowering of the driving forces (because of electroviscous effects), in comparison to the effect of weaker drag forces. We further reveal that the time at which the transition between the linear and the Washburn regime occurs may become significantly altered with the introduction of surface charges, thereby altering the resultant capillary dynamics in a rather intricate manner.

Exploring new scaling regimes for streaming potential and electroviscous effects in a nanocapillary with overlapping electric double layers

In this paper, we unravel new scaling regimes for streaming potential and electroviscous effects in a nanocapillary with thick overlapping Electric Double Layers (EDLs). We observe that the streaming potential, for a given value of the capillary zeta (ζ) potential, varies with the EDL thickness and a dimensionless parameter R, quantifying the conduction current. Depending on the value of R, variation of the streaming potential with the EDL thickness demonstrates distinct scaling regimes: one can witness a Quadratic Regime where the streaming potential varies as the square of the EDL thickness, a Weak Regime where the streaming potential shows a weaker variation with the EDL thickness, and a Saturation Regime where the streaming potential ceases to vary with the EDL thickness. Effective viscosity, characterizing the electroviscous effect, obeys the variation of the streaming potential for smaller EDL thickness values; however, for larger EDL thickness the electroosmotic flow profile dictates the electroviscous effect, with insignificant contribution of the streaming potential.

Electric double-layer interactions in a wedge geometry: change in contact angle for drops and bubbles

In this paper, we provide a theory to pinpoint the role of electric double layer (EDL) interactions in governing the contact angle of an electrolyte drop on a charged solid in air or a bubble on a charged surface within an electrolyte solution. The EDL interactions are analytically solved by representing the three phase contact line as a wedge edge, with the wedge being formed by the solid-liquid and the air-liquid interfaces, and calculating the corresponding Maxwell stresses. We demonstrate that the EDL effects induce an "electrowetting-like" behavior, resulting in a lowering of the contact angle. As a specific example, we use this model to analyze the effect of added salt on preformed surface nanobubbles, and find, in contrast to what has been reported earlier, that even for most moderate conditions, added salt may have remarkable effect in altering the contact angle in preformed surface nanobubbles.