Microfluidic thin film pressure balance for the study of complex thin films

• Published in: Lab on a chip 2021-01, Vol.21 (2), p.412-42
• Main Authors: Andrieux, Sébastien, Muller, Pierre, Kaushal, Manish, Macias Vera, Nadia Sofía, Bollache, Robin, Honorez, Clément, Cagna, Alain, Drenckhan, Wiebke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aqueous solutions; Biophysics; Computational fluid dynamics; Condensed Matter; Gas transport; Hydrogels; Membranes; Microfluidics; Physics; Polymer films; Polymer melts; Soft Condensed Matter; Thin films
• ISSN: 1473-0197; 1473-0189
• DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00974a

Investigations of free-standing liquid films enjoy an increasing popularity due to their relevance for many fundamental and applied scientific problems. They constitute soap bubbles and foams, serve as membranes for gas transport or as model membranes in biophysics. More generally, they provide a convenient tool for the investigation of numerous fundamental questions related to interface- and confinement-driven effects in soft matter science. Several approaches and devices have been developed in the past to characterise reliably the thinning and stability of such films, which were commonly created from low-viscosity, aqueous solutions/dispersions. With an increasing interest in the investigation of films made from strongly viscoelastic and complex fluids that may also solidify, the development of a new generation of devices is required to manage reliably the constraints imposed by these formulations. We therefore propose here a microfluidic chip design which allows for the reliable creation, control and characterisation of free-standing films of complex fluids. We provide all technical details and we demonstrate the device functioning for a larger range of systems via a selection of illustrative examples, including films of polymer melts and gelling hydrogels. Free-standing thin films of complex fluids can be investigated at controlled pressure conditions using a sandwich-type microfluidic chip design.