Rings, Igloos, and Pebbles of Salt Formed by Drying Saline Drops

It is well-known that evaporation of sessile drops with suspended particles like colloids and coffee powders can yield a variety of two-dimensional patterns depending on the particle shapes and internal flow patterns. Here we show that ordered three-dimensional structures can be built via evaporation of saline drops on highly hydrophobic substrates like pristine PP (polypropylene) with micropores and nanostructured low-surface-energy PP. On pristine PP having a high contact angle but a large contact angle hysteresis (CAH) with water, either rings or igloos of salt are formed depending on the salt concentration and evaporation rate. On nanostructured low-surface-energy PP having extreme water repellency with a very low CAH, pebbles of salt are formed regardless of salt concentration and evaporation rate. These observations lead us to conclude that combined effects of solubility, evaporati…