Langevin Approach to Modeling of Small Levitating Ordered Droplet Clusters

J Phys Chem Lett. 2018 Jul 19;9(14):3834-3838. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01693. Epub 2018 Jun 29.

Abstract

A self-assembled cluster of microdroplets levitating over a heated water surface is a fascinating phenomenon with potential applications for microreactors and for chemical and biological analysis of small volumes of liquids. Recently, we suggested a method to synthesize a cluster with an arbitrary number of small monodisperse droplets. However, the interactions, which control the structure of the cluster, are still not well understood. Here we propose a Langevin computational model considering the aerodynamic forces between the droplets and random diffusion-like fluctuations. Characteristic length and time scales and scaling relationships of interactions are discussed. The model shows excellent agreement with experimental observations for a small number of droplets.