2026-10-12T11:56:08Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33986494 2026-09-24T15:24:32Z category_1 category_4 category_146 category_915 category_873 category_502 category_46 category_734 category_134 portal_63 item_type_2 month_year_09_2026

Evaporation-Induced Microphase Separation at the Interface of a Sessile Droplet: Formation of a Regular Lattice Pattern Vahid Nasirimarekani (10429506) Biophysics Biochemistry Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Astronomical and Space Sciences not elsewhere classified Immunology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Virology receding contact line localized evaporative concentration isolated polymer clusters initial polymer concentration containing buffer within induce phase separation evaporating sessile droplets mediated microphase separation induced microphase separation evaporating sessile droplet ordered pattern formation microphase separation sessile droplet ordered mesophases study highlights results demonstrate pluronic f open question engineering self complex fluids block copolymer Evaporation alters molecular interactions and can induce phase separation in complex fluids. Whether evaporation can drive localized phase separation at the receding contact line and lead to ordered pattern formation in small liquid volumes remains an open question. Here, we investigate the evaporation-induced microphase separation of a block copolymer (Pluronic F-127) in a salt-containing buffer within an evaporating sessile droplet. We observe that salt-mediated phase separation occurs at the dynamic interface of the droplet, leading to the formation of isolated polymer clusters or highly regular lattice patterns depending on the initial polymer concentration. Our results demonstrate that localized evaporative concentration and salt–polymer interactions at the droplet interface drive salting-out effects and microphase separation into ordered mesophases. This study highlights the utility of evaporating sessile droplets for engineering self-assembled, regular polymeric patterns via interface-mediated microphase separation. 2026-09-24T00:00:00Z Dataset Media 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04739.s005 https://figshare.com/articles/media/Evaporation-Induced_Microphase_Separation_at_the_Interface_of_a_Sessile_Droplet_Formation_of_a_Regular_Lattice_Pattern/33986494 CC BY-NC 4.0