| Abstract: | Micro-droplets of soft matter solutions have different morphologies upon drying, and can become wrinkled, buckled or cavitated particles. We investigate the morphology evolution of a drying soft matter droplet in this work: at the early stage of drying, wrinkling or cavitation instability can occur in the droplet, depending on the comparison between the critical wrinkling and cavitation pressure; at a later stage of drying, no wrinkles will appear if cavitation happens first, while cavitation can still occur if wrinkling happens first. A three-dimensional phase diagram in the space of elastic length, gel layer thickness and weight loss is provided to illustrate the drying pathways of a soft matter droplet. This diagram can help guide future fabrications of micro-particles with desired morphologies. |
