Oscillatory Reversible Osmotic Growth of Sessile Saline Droplets on a Floating Polydimethylsiloxane Membrane

Abstract

We report a cyclic growth/retraction phenomena observed for saline droplets placed on a cured poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane with a thickness of 7.8 ± 0.1 µm floating on a pure water surface. Osmotic mass transport across the micro-scaled floating PDMS membrane provided the growth of the sessile saline droplets followed by evaporation of the droplets. NaCl crystals were observed in the vicinity of the triple line at the evaporation stage. The observed growth/retraction cycle was reversible. A model of the osmotic mass transfer across the cured PDMS membrane is suggested and verified. The first stage of the osmotic growth of saline droplets is well-approximated by the universal linear relationship, whose slope is independent of the initial radius of the droplet. The suggested physical model qualitatively explains the time evolution of the droplet size. The reported process demonstrates a potential for use in industrial desalination.