Retardation of Capillary Force between Janus Particles at the Oil-Water Interface

Interactions among colloidal particles govern the hierarchical microstructure and its physical properties. Here, optical laser tweezers and Monte Carlo simulations are used to evaluate the effects of azimuthal rotation of Janus particles at the oil-water interface on interparticle interactions. We find that the capillary-induced attractive force between two Janus particles at the interface can be relaxed by azimuthal rotation around the critical separation region, at which the capillary force is similar to 0.053 pN. Force relaxation leads to a decrease in capillary force around the critical separation region, resulting in a slight increase in the scaling exponent, compared to the theoretical prediction.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effects of azimuthal rotation of Janus particles at the oil-water interface on interparticle interactions using optical laser tweezers and Monte Carlo simulations. It was found that azimuthal rotation around the critical separation region can relax the capillary-induced attractive force between Janus particles, resulting in a slight increase in the scaling exponent.