Electric Field-Driven Assembly of Sulfonated Polystyrene Microspheres
by
Alexander Mikkelsen 1
, Jarosław Wojciechowski 2, Michal Rajňák 3,4, Juraj Kurimský 4, Khobaib Khobaib 1, Ahmet Kertmen 5 and Zbigniew Rozynek 1,*
Alexander Mikkelsen 1, Jarosław Wojciechowski 2, Michal Rajňák 3,4, Juraj Kurimský 4, Khobaib Khobaib 1, Ahmet Kertmen 5 and Zbigniew Rozynek 1,*
1
Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
2
Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Ludwika Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
3
Institute of Experimental Physics SAS, Watsonova 47, 040-01 Kosice, Slovakia
4
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 04200 Košice, Slovakia
5
Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Andrei V. Petukhov and Gert Jan Vroege
Materials 2017, 10(4), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10040329
Received: 11 February 2017 / Revised: 8 March 2017 / Accepted: 21 March 2017 / Published: 23 March 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designed Colloidal Self-Assembly)
A designed assembly of particles at liquid interfaces offers many advantages for development of materials, and can be performed by various means. Electric fields provide a flexible method for structuring particles on drops, utilizing electrohydrodynamic circulation flows, and dielectrophoretic and electrophoretic interactions. In addition to the properties of the applied electric field, the manipulation of particles often depends on the intrinsic properties of the particles to be assembled. Here, we present an easy approach for producing polystyrene microparticles with different electrical properties. These particles are used for investigations into electric field-guided particle assembly in the bulk and on surfaces of oil droplets. By sulfonating polystyrene particles, we produce a set of particles with a range of dielectric constants and electrical conductivities, related to the sulfonation reaction time. The paper presents diverse particle behavior driven by electric fields, including particle assembly at different droplet locations, particle chaining, and the formation of ribbon-like structures with anisotropic properties.
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Keywords:
microparticles; sulfonation; spherical polystyrene particles; electric fields; self-assembly; electric conductance; dielectric constant; electro-rheology; droplets
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mikkelsen, A.; Wojciechowski, J.; Rajňák, M.; Kurimský, J.; Khobaib, K.; Kertmen, A.; Rozynek, Z. Electric Field-Driven Assembly of Sulfonated Polystyrene Microspheres. Materials 2017, 10, 329.
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