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Predicting and controlling a droplet’s behavior on surfaces is very complex due to several factors affecting its nature. These factors play a crucial role in colloidal material deposition and related solution-based manufacturing methods such as printing. A better understanding of the processes governing the droplet in the picoliter regime is needed to help develop novel thin-film manufacturing methods and improve the current ones. This study introduces the substrate temperature as a method to control the droplet’s behavior during inkjet printing, especially the coffee-ring phenomena, at an unprecedented temperature range (25–250 °C). To explain the particular behavior of the droplet, this research associates the creation of specific coffee-ring micro/nanostructures at elevated temperatures with the Leidenfrost effect that is responsible for creating a vapor pocket under the drying drop. Herein, we combine experimental data and numerical methods to explain the drying dynamic of the picoliter-size droplet on the substrate at elevated temperatures. The achieved results indicate that the coffee-ring effect is correlated with the heat-transfer changes caused by the Leidenfrost effect and can be controlled and used to produce micro/nanostructured thin films without additional processing steps.

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We present a novel, non-contact, and non-optical approach to actuation and sensing. In the developed method, both functions are based only on the alternating magnetic field and take place simultaneously. The article demonstrates the technique in one of its potential applications, i.e. rheometry. The developed device uses two orthogonal pairs of inductor coils to generate a rotating magnetic field. The field actuates a rotor with an embedded NdFeB ring magnet. The angular displacement is simultaneously monitored with an angular AMR sensor, placed underneath the rotor. The device is used to study aqueous solutions at different concentrations of glycerol (10-95%). The accuracy of the angular sensing is verified using machine vision and pattern recognition, which is a technique widely used in the existing viscometers. A new approach to viscosity probing and phase slipping detection is introduced. So far, in non-contact rotational viscometers the dynamic viscosity was related to a critical frequency, determined by altering the frequency of the rotating magnetic field. However, we propose to alter the magnitude of the field, by changing the current in the inductor coils. The frequency is kept constant and the viscosity is proportional to the amplitude of current, for which the phase slipping occurs. The applied rate of rotation can be optimized for a particular measurement scenario. The results suggest a great potential of the technique in a variety of scenarios. Simultaneous magnetic actuation and sensing enables application in a broad frequency band, from dc to tens of kilohertz. Moreover, the design of a measurement device is simplified, so that its cost can be significantly lower than that of a conventional system. Furthermore, presented method is non-contact, does not require a clear optical path, and could be less susceptible to the environmental conditions (e.g. poor illumination, or full immersion in the studied solution).

In this work, we present laser coloration on 304 stainless steel using nanosecond laser. Surface modifications are tuned by adjusting laser parameters of scanning speed, repetition rate, and pulse width. A comprehensive study of the physical mechanism leading to the appearance is presented. Microscopic patterns are measured and employed as input to simulate light-matter interferences, while chemical states and crystal structures of composites to figure out intrinsic colors. Quantitative analysis clarifies the final colors and RGB values are the combinations of structural colors and intrinsic colors from the oxidized pigments, with the latter dominating. Therefore, the engineering and scientific insights of nanosecond laser coloration highlight large-scale utilization of the present route for colorful and resistant steels.