arXiv subjects

A. Ponce-Torres

Publications and source records attributed to A. Ponce-Torres.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Impulsive Hydrodynamic Exfoliation into Monolayer Graphene and Nanofragments by Transonic Flow Focusing

We propose using Transonic Flow Focusing (TFF) to produce 2D and 0D nanomaterials. This technique focuses liquid suspensions into high-speed micrometer-scale jets, combining extremely high shear and elongational stresses in a confined, contact-free zone. For the Graphene Nanoplatelets suspensions and TFF operating conditions investigated here, the process promoted exfoliation without added surfactants or oxidative chemistry. Both graphene monolayer flakes ($\sim 300-400$ nm in lateral size) and monolayer graphene nanofragments with lateral sizes compatible with quantum dots ($\sim 10-15$ nm) were obtained in a single TFF step using isopropanol and pure water. Our theoretical analysis reveals that, during microsecond residence times at the meniscus-jet transition, shear and extensional stresses of the order of $10^6$ s$^{-1}$ act on the suspended particles, yielding viscous power densities of the order of $10^{10}$ $\mathrm{W/m^{3}}$. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy show that the monolayer fraction exceeded 99\% for isopropanol and 92.9\% for water. These results suggest that TFF can combine solvent versatility with a high monolayer fraction in a purely mechanical top-down process.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2021

Effect of an axial electric field on the breakup of a leaky-dielectric liquid filament

We study experimentally and numerically the thinning of a Newtonian leaky-dielectric filament subject to an axial electric field. We consider moderately viscous liquids with high permittivity. The experiments show that satellite droplets are produced from the breakup of the filaments with high electrical permittivity due to the action of the electric field. Two electrified filaments with the same minimum radius thin at the same speed regardless of when the voltage was applied. The numerical simulations show that the polarization stress is responsible for the pinching delay observed in the experiments. Asymptotically close to the pinching point, the filament pinching is dominated by the diverging hydrodynamic forces. The polarization stress becomes subdominant even if this stress also diverges at this finite-time singularity.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

Viscoelastic Liquid Bridge Breakup and Liquid Transfer Between two Surfaces

We studied experimentally the breakup of liquid bridges made of aqueous solutions of Poly(acrylic acid) between two separating solid surfaces with freely moving contact lines. For polymer concentrations higher than a certain threshold ($\sim$ 30 ppm), the contact line on the surface with the highest receding contact angle fully retracts before the liquid bridge capillary breakup takes place at its neck. This means that all the liquid remains attached to the opposing surface when the surfaces are separated. This behavior occurs regardless of the range of liquid volume and stretching speed studied. Such behavior is very different from that observed for Newtonian liquids or non-Newtonian systems where contact lines are intentionally pinned. It is shown that this behavior stems from the competition between thinning of bridge neck (delayed by extensional thickening) and receding of contact line (enhanced by shear thinning) on the surface with lower receding contact angle. If the two surfaces exhibit the same wetting properties, the upper contact line fully retracts before the capillary breakup due to the asymmetry caused by gravity, and, therefore, all the liquid remains on the lower surface.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

Influence of the surface viscous stress on the pinch-off of free surfaces loaded with nearly-inviscid surfactants

We analyze both theoretically and experimentally the breakup of a pendant water droplet loaded with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS). The free surface minimum radius measured in the experiments is compared with that obtained from a numerical solution of the full Navier-Stokes equations for different values of the shear and dilatational surface viscosities. This comparison shows the small but measurable effect of the surface viscous stresses on the system dynamics for sufficiently small spatiotemporal distances from the breakup point, and allows to establish upper bounds for the values of the shear and dilatational viscosities. We study numerically the distribution of Marangoni and viscous stresses over the free surface as a function of the time to the pinching, and describe how surface viscous stresses grow in the pinching region as the free surface approaches its breakup. When Marangoni and surface viscosity stresses are taken into account, the surfactant is not swept away from the thread neck in the time interval analyzed. Surface viscous stresses eventually balance the driving capillary pressure in that region for small enough values of the time to pinching. Based on this result, we propose a scaling law to account for the effect of the surface viscosities on the last stage of the temporal evolution of the neck radius.

physics.flu-dyn↗