Thin free-standing liquid films manipulation

This paper explores the dynamics of thin free-standing liquid film by introducing a device to manip-
ulate its shape. We used a Teflon (hydrophobic) bubble pipe with a ∼ 0.75 mm high Au-Pt sputter
coating (hydrophilic) on the inner surface that prevents a water-based film from traveling when air is
pumped to inflate or deflate the film. In this way, we can reversibly drive flow regime switch between
viscous-capillary and viscous-gravity. The device is coupled with a digital holography setup to real
time-measure the film thickness map evolution. The experimental setup is used to measure liquid
film drainage dynamics in different regimes, to stabilize films which typically quickly tend to rupture,
to obtain their solidification with solvent evaporation and to induce film structuring by periodic film
manipulation. We believe this device represents a useful and practical tool to study thin liquid film
dynamics and to produce novel (patterned) 2D structures for the numerous scientific and technical
fields where they are of use