Coffee stains on paper

In this study we investigated the underlying mechanisms of coffee stain formation on paper - a porous substrate. When a drop of aqueous liquid containing dispersed materials dries on paper, the faster water evaporation rate at the edge of the drop drives the redistribution of the dispersed materials to the edge of the drop-covered area on paper. Deegan's discovery has been accepted as the "coffee ring" phenomenon, which has wide implications. However, stains left by dried aqueous liquids on paper are not always ring-shaped. This is because, besides Deegan's coffee ring effect, the transport of dispersed materials in porous media is affected by chromatographic and filtration effects, which are highly dependent upon the properties of the substrates. In this work we clarify the influences of different mechanisms to the dispersed materials redistribution in paper. Refereed/Peer-reviewed