Eur. Phys. J. E (2018) 41: 94
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2018-11712-x

Colloquium

Drying colloidal systems: Laboratory models for a wide range of applications

¹ Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France
² Aix-Marseille University, IUSTI UMR CNRS, 7343, Marseille, France
³ Laboratoire FAST, UMR 7608 CNRS - Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay, France
⁴ MINES ParisTech, PLS Research University, CEMEF - Centre de mise en forme des matériaux, UMR CNRS 7635, CS 10207, 06904, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France
⁵ Suzhou Key Lab of Green Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Material Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
⁶ School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, NG11 8NS, Nottingham, UK
⁷ LAMPA, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 2, Boulevard du Ronceray, BP 93525, cedex 01, F-49035, Angers, France
⁸ Agrocampus Ouest, INRA, UMR STLO, Rennes, France
⁹ Department of Geological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
¹⁰ Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, 5, Boulevard de l’Hautil, Pontoise, France
¹¹ Institut de Minéralogie de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), CNRS UMR7590 - Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4, place Jussieu, Case 115, 75005, Paris, France

^* e-mail: ludovic.pauchard@u-psud.fr

Received: 8 June 2018
Accepted: 2 July 2018
Published online: 22 August 2018

Abstract

The drying of complex fluids provides a powerful insight into phenomena that take place on time and length scales not normally accessible. An important feature of complex fluids, colloidal dispersions and polymer solutions is their high sensitivity to weak external actions. Thus, the drying of complex fluids involves a large number of physical and chemical processes. The scope of this review is the capacity to tune such systems to reproduce and explore specific properties in a physics laboratory. A wide variety of systems are presented, ranging from functional coatings, food science, cosmetology, medical diagnostics and forensics to geophysics and art.