silvergrahm
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Spreading a film
Hello,
I want to spread a thin but even film of fructose over a flat, smooth horizontal silica tile.
I began by simply dissolving in water and applying. The solution beaded up horribly as I expected. So, I'm looking for a wetting agent or surfactant
that will allow the solution to spread across the surface in one unbroken, unbeaded sheet--as well as evaporate along with the water, leaving mostly
fructose.
I am not a chemist but my understanding is I need an additive or a whole new liquid (in which fructose if soluble) that will lower the contact angle
and lower the surface tension.
Thank you
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elementcollector1
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Soap?
Preferably dish soap?
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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watson.fawkes
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Quote: Originally posted by silvergrahm  | | I am not a chemist but my understanding is I need an additive or a whole new liquid (in which fructose if soluble) that will lower the contact angle
and lower the surface tension. |
What kind of impurities can you tolerate in an additive? If you don't know,
what's the application? (So folks here can get an idea of what won't work.)
And how thin is thin? Like 2 mm? Or a few microns?
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bahamuth
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Variable amounts of an alcohol might do the trick. Isopropanol works wonders as a "surfactant" in certain applications. n-butanol is also a good
alternative.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
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silvergrahm
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I'd like evrything to evaporate. Much thinner than 2mm, more like .5mm in the wet film, when dried, who knows, i dont have a way to measure such a
thing. I've been doing some more research and it looks like methanol might be an easily accessible chem. though bahamuth I'm going to check out
isopropanol and n-butanol.
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phlogiston
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How about preheating the tile, in a dry state, and then spraying it while hot with a fine mist of fructose solution. The droplets should evaporate
nearly instantly whenthey land on the surface, and by using very fine droplets, a dilute solution and even spraying you should be able to make pretty
homogenous coatings.
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"If a rocket goes up, who cares where it comes down, that's not my concern said Wernher von Braun" - Tom Lehrer |
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