Biochar wettability and ability to accumulate moisture inside the porous space are crucial for improving soil fertility, regulating soil water balance, and regulating nutrients. However, a long-term interaction of biochar with agricultural soils may drastically alter the wetting properties and, eventually, influence water holding capacity and the structure of soils. In this work, the structure and wetting properties of biochar samples after 6-year long exposure to a sandy loam Spodosol with a crop rotation and mineral fertilizers application were studied. It was found that the elemental composition of the aged biochars was richer and more "soil-like", which is explained by the presence of the mineral crust on the biochar surface. The temporal evolution of biochar in the soil without any mineral fertilizer application resulted in significant improvement of its surface wettability due to the effects of various environmental factors. The lateral surface of biochar after 6-year interaction with the soil changes into a loose porous layer in a form of grooved base filled with adherent mineral soil and clay particles. Contrary, the application of the mineral fertilizer to the soil resulted in decreased wettability of the biochar lateral surfaces due to a decrease in the polar component of surface energy and the crusting of the surface with fine material, which blocks the pore space of the biochar. As a result, water capacity of the biochar from the treatment with the fertilizer decreased compared to the biochar samples collected from the soil without the fertilizer application. The radial biochar surfaces of both types of samples collected from the soil were open vessels filled with soil particles that slow down complete wetting and water absorption. The treatment of the biochar samples with surfactants drastically increased wettability of lateral surface and water absorption capacity of control samples as compared to the samples collected from the soil. The obtained results support the idea that the hydrophilisation of biochar caused by the adhesion of soil particles and treatment of its pore surface with surfactants, can improve the water-holding capacity of the sandy loam Spodosol in the plant-available range of soil water. Graphical Abstract

This paper proposes a simple and easily implemented configuration of a varifocal liquid lens actuated by laser-induced thermal Marangoni forces. The lens consists of a sessile droplet of low-volatile liquid placed on a transparent solid surface. The focal length tunability is achieved by changing a local curvature of the droplet surface due to the thermocapillary displacement of liquid from the core part of the droplet to its edge caused by heating with a laser beam. Depending on the power of the laser beam, the droplet can operate as a varifocal convergent or varifocal divergent lens. In the convergent mode, the curvature of the droplet surface varies from an initial positive value to a near zero value (flat surface), whereas in the divergent mode, the curvature changes from a positive value to a negative value due to the formation of a thermocapillary dimple in the droplet.

This work is devoted to a method to generate particle cluster assemblies and connected to evaporative lithography. Experiments are carried out using nonuniform evaporation of an isopropanol film containing polystyrene microspheres in a cylindrical cell. The local inhomogeneity of the vapor flux density is achieved by exploiting the temperature gradient. A copper rod is mounted in the central part of the bottom of the cell for further heating. The thermocapillary flow resulting from the surface tension gradient, due in turn to the temperature drop, transfers the particles that were originally at rest at the bottom of the cell. The effect of the initial thickness of the liquid layer on the height and base area of the cluster formed in the central region of the cell is studied. The velocity is measured using particle image velocimetry. A model describing the initial stage of the process is developed. The equations of heat transfer and thermal conductivity are used to define the temperature distribution in the liquid and in the cell. The fluid flow is simulated using the lubrication approximation. The particle distribution is modeled using the convection–diffusion equation. The evaporation flux density is calculated using the Hertz–Knudsen equation. The dependence of the liquid viscosity on the particle concentration is described by Mooney's formula. Numerical results show that the liquid film gradually becomes thinner in the central region, as the surface tension decreases with the increasing temperature. The liquid flow is directed to the heater near the substrate, and it transfers the particles to the center of the cell. The volume fraction of the particles increases over time in this region. The heat flow from the heater affects the geometry of the cluster for two reasons: First, the Marangoni flow velocity depends on the temperature gradient, and second, the decrease in film thickness near the heater depends on the temperature. The results of the simulation are in general agreement with the experimental data.

The optical systems mimicking the eye functions are of great importance in various applications including consumer electronics, medical equipment, machine vision systems and robotics. This optics offers advantages over traditional optical technologies such as the superior adaptation to changing conditions and the comprehensive range of functional characteristics at miniature sizes. This paper presents a review on the recent progress in the development of human eye-inspired optical systems. Liquid-based and elastomer-based tunable optical elements are discussed with the focus on the actuation mechanism, optical performance and the possibility of integration into artificial eye systems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology (part 3)’.

Reducing particle contaminations on solid and delicate surfaces is of great importance in a number of industries. A new non-destructive method is proposed, which is based on the laser-induced thermocapillary effect for the removal of micron size particles from surfaces. The cleaning mechanism is related to the surface-tension-driven flows produced by the laser heating of thin layer of a cleaning liquid deposited onto a surface contaminated with particles. Focusing the laser irradiation into the line laser beam allowed using this method for a large-scale cleaning of surfaces. Hexadecane was used as a cleaning liquid to remove micron-sized polyethylene, Teflon, talc and Al2O3 particles from surfaces of welding glass, carbolite and soft magnetic disc using the line beam of the IR laser. A good cleaning efficiency was achieved for cases of polyethylene and Teflon particles on both the complete wettable welding glass and the low-wettable soft magnetic disc, while in case of oleophilic talc and Al2O3 particles the effectiveness of the cleaning method was lower on all three substrates investigated. The thermal influence of the laser irradiation on substrates used was measured with infrared camera. It was shown that temperature in the irradiated area during the long-time heating increases insignificantly and cannot cause any damage of the substrate.

The authors analyzed the motion of diamagnetic bodies that float on diamagnetic liquids. The motion was inspired by the deformation of the diamagnetic liquid surface by a magnetic field, called the ‘Moses effect’. The influence of the surface tension on the shape of the well pushed out by the steady magnetic field (B ≅ 0·35T) acting on the surface of the liquid was studied both experimentally and theoretically for water, silicone oil and aqueous surfactant solution. The suggested mathematical approach accurately predicted the shape of the well, depending on the surface tension of the liquid. Qualitative analysis is reported regarding the motion of floating diamagnetic polymers and metallic objects driven by the Moses effect. The impact of the bulk magnetic force on the motion is minor for all of the studied diamagnetic rafts. The influences of gravity and interfacial forces on the displacement of rafts may be of a comparable order of magnitude.