Influence of magnetic field on evaporation of a ferrofluid droplet

This paper reports the influence of the static magnetic field on the evaporation of a ferrofluid droplet placed on a plane glass substrate. A water based ferrofluid drop is allowed to dry under ambient conditions. Like all other fluids, this fluid also exhibits well-known coffee ring patterns under zero field conditions. This pattern is shown to be modulated by applying the static magnetic field. When the field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, the thickness of the ring decreases with an increase in the field, and under a critical value of the field, the coffee-ring effect is suppressed. For the parallel field configuration, linear chains parallel to the plane of the substrate are observed. The effect of the field on the evaporation rate and temporal variation of the contact angle is also studied. The results are analyzed in light of available models. These findings may be useful in applications like ink-jet printing, lithography, and painting and display devices involving ferrofluids.