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DRY & WET: meniscus splitting from a mixture of polysaccharides and water

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 1185–1194 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Drying-induced patterns, “meniscus splitting”, are introduced through a series of experiments using self-assembled polysaccharides. When physicochemical factors such as the geometry of the evaporative air–liquid interface are controlled, the depositing polymer bridges the gap between two substrates to create multiple nuclei at specific positions for membrane growth. These phenomena were first discovered by our group based on viscous fingering, known as tears of wine. By developing interfacial instability, meniscus splitting causes partitioning of a space by membranes, similar to dissipative structures seen in nature, “from one space into multiple spaces.” In the field of advanced biomimetic materials, the method of convective meniscus splitting would be useful for devising a powerful strategy for the preparation of hierarchically self-assembled materials from a variety of polymeric materials.

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Acknowledgements

The author is sincerely grateful to Professor Tatsuo Kaneko, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and coworkers for their continuous encouragement and tremendous support. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (JP16K17956) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (JP20H05213) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan; The Kyoto Technoscience Center; The Mitani Foundation for Research and Development; The Asahi Glass Foundation; The Innovation Inspired by Nature Research Support Program; Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd.; and the Shibuya Science, Culture and Sports Foundation.

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  1. Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa, 923-1292, Japan

    Kosuke Okeyoshi

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Correspondence to Kosuke Okeyoshi.

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Okeyoshi, K. DRY & WET: meniscus splitting from a mixture of polysaccharides and water. Polym J 52, 1185–1194 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-020-0369-y

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