Buckling of a monolayer of platelike particles trapped at a fluid-fluid interface

• Published in: Physical review. E Vol. 109; no. 1-1; p. 014801
• Main Authors: Prakash, Suriya, Perrin, Hugo, Botto, Lorenzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2024
• ISSN: 2470-0053
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.109.014801

Particles trapped at a fluid-fluid interface by capillary forces can form a monolayer that jams and buckles when subject to uniaxial compression. Here we investigate experimentally the buckling mechanics of monolayers of millimeter-sized rigid plates trapped at a planar fluid-fluid interface subject to uniaxial compression in a Langmuir trough. We quantified the buckling wavelength and the associated force on the trough barriers as a function of the degree of compression. To explain the observed buckling wavelength and forces in the two-dimensional (2D) monolayer, we consider a simplified system composed of a linear chain of platelike particles. The chain system enables us to build a theoretical model which is then compared to the 2D monolayer data. Both the experiments and analytical model show that the wavelength of buckling of a monolayer of platelike particles is of the order of the particle size, a different scaling from the one usually reported for monolayers of spheres. A simple model of buckling surface pressure is also proposed, and an analysis of the effect of the bending rigidity resulting from a small overlap between nanosheet particles is presented. These results can be applied to the modeling of the interfacial rheology and buckling dynamics of interfacial layers of 2D nanomaterials.