Controllable light-induced droplet evaporative crystallization.

Abstract

Droplet evaporative crystallization is one of the practical tools for clinical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and pharmaceutical synthesis. Herein, we proposed a controllable and flexible light strategy to manipulate the droplet evaporative crystallization, in which the photothermal effect of a focused infrared laser actuated intense evaporation to attain the droplet evaporative crystallization. Due to the localized heating effect, not only the droplet evaporative crystallization could be promoted, but also the resultant Marangoni-flow enabled the crystals to be concentrated, exhibiting excellent controllability. Besides, a relationship between the crystallization starting time and the solution concentration/laser power was achieved, which benefited the manipulation of the droplet evaporative crystallization. The light strategy proposed in the present study possesses promising potential for future applications.