Droplet retraction in the presence of nanoparticles with different surface modifications

We studied the influence of nanoparticles with different surface modifications on the interfacial tension and relaxation of model polymer blend after cessation of different strains. The droplet retraction experiments were carried out on a model system composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the suspending fluid and polyisobutylene (PIB) as droplet at room temperature in the presence of hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanosilica. Different weight fractions of particles were dispersed in the PIB droplet before forming a dispersed droplet by using a microsyringe in shear cell. We found that applied strain, nanoparticle concentration and their thermodynamically preferred localization affect both nominal interfacial tension and droplet retraction process. By addition of nanoparticles at a concentration as low as 0.2%wt, the nominal interfacial tension decreases from 3.12 +/- 0.15 mN/m for neat PIB-PDMS interface depending on the surface characteristics of nanosilica. Hydrophilic nanosilica has the most effect on nominal interfacial tension and decreases it as low as 0.2 +/- 0.21 mN/m at 1 wt.% loading under a strain of 7. The results show that the retraction process in this system is mainly controlled by interfacial phenomena rather than bulk rheological properties. Additionally, the shape evolution of droplets changes and the retraction rate slows down in the presence of nanoparticles.