A model for the electric field-driven deformation of a drop or vesicle in strong electrolyte solutions

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive model describing how electric fields deform drops or vesicles in electrolyte solutions, incorporating electrokinetic flows, electrostatics, and fluid dynamics through coupled equations and boundary conditions.

Contribution

It introduces two formulations of a model for electric field-induced deformation of drops or vesicles, integrating electrokinetics and fluid mechanics with simplified strong electrolyte assumptions.

Findings

Model captures arbitrary deformations under electric fields.

Two formulations provide flexible approaches for analysis.

Incorporates electrostatic and electrokinetic effects in deformation.

Abstract

A model is constructed to describe the arbitrary deformation of a drop or vesicle that contains and is embedded in an electrolyte solution, where the deformation is caused by an applied electric field. The applied field produces an electrokinetic flow or induced charge electro-osmosis. The model is based on the coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Stokes equations. These are reduced or simplified by forming the limit of strong electrolytes, for which ion densities are relatively large, together with the limit of thin Debye layers. Debye layers of opposite polarity form on either side of the drop interface or vesicle membrane, together forming an electrical double layer. Two formulations of the model are given. One utilizes an integral equation for the velocity field on the interface or membrane surface together with a pair of integral equations for the electrostatic potential on the outer faces of the double layer. The other utilizes a form of the stress-balance boundary condition that incorporates the double layer structure into relations between the dependent variables on the layer's outer faces. This constitutes an interfacial boundary condition that drives an otherwise unforced Stokes flow outside the double layer. For both formulations relations derived from the transport of ions in each Debye layer give additional boundary conditions for the potential and ion concentrations outside the double layer.