The impact of physical-chemistry on film thinning in surface bubbles

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the thinning dynamics of evaporating surfactant-stabilised surface bubbles by considering the role of physical-chemistry of solutions used in a liquid bath. We study the impact of the surfactant concentration below and above the cmc (critical micelle concentration) and the role of ambient humidity. First, in a humidity-saturated atmosphere, we show that if the initial thickness depends on the surfactant concentration and is limited by the surface elasticity, the drainage dynamics are very well described from the capillary and gravity contributions. These dynamics are independent of the surfactant concentration. Second, our study reveals that the physical-chemistry impacts the thinning dynamics through evaporation. We include in the model the additional contribution due to evaporation, which shows a good description of the experimental data below the cmc. Above the cmc, although this model is unsatisfactory at short times, the dynamics at long times is correctly rendered and we establish that the increase of the surfactant concentration decreases the impact of evaporation. Finally, the addition of a hygroscopic compound, glycerol, can be also rationalized by our model. We demonstrate that glycerol decreases the bubble thinning rate at ambient humidity, thus increasing their stability.