Abstract
Enwrapping liquid droplets with hydrophobic particles allows the manufacture of so-called “liquid marbles” [Aussillous and Quéré Nature (London) 411, 924 (2001); Mahadevan Nature (London)411, 895 (2001)]. The recent intensive research devoted to liquid marbles is justified by their very unusual physical and chemical properties and by their potential for various applications, from microreactors to water storage, including water pollution sensors [Bormashenko Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 16, 266 (2011)]. Here we demonstrate that this concept can be successfully applied for encapsulating and protecting small gas pockets within an air environment. Similarly to their liquid counterparts, those new soft-matter objects, that we call “gas marbles,” can sustain external forces. We show that gas marbles are surprisingly tenfold stronger than liquid marbles and, more importantly, they can sustain both positive and negative pressure differences. This magnified strength is shown to originate from the strong cohesive nature of the shell. Those interesting properties could be exploited for imprisoning valuable or polluted gases or for designing new aerated materials.
- Received 30 January 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.228001
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
“Gas Marbles” Store Air in Strong Spheres
Published 2 June 2017
A spherical shell made of plastic microspheres can store pressurized gas in a tiny volume and might be used to stabilize foams or to deliver specialized gases.
See more in Physics