Effect of relative humidity on contact angle and particle deposition morphology of an evaporating colloidal drop

The deposition behavior of inkjet-printed aqueous colloidal drops on a glass substrate has been investigated by using fluorescence microscopy and a high resolution goniometer. Real-time side-view images of a pinned colloidal drop show that the contact angle during evaporation is a function of the relative humidity (RH). The RH also affects the extent to which the drop is able to spread after impacting a substrate, the evaporation rate at the drop surface, and the evaporatively driven flow inside the drop that drives the suspended particles toward the contact line. Results show that the particle deposition area and pattern change significantly with the RH. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3525167]