Detecting solid-liquid interface properties with mechanical slip modelling for quartz crystal microbalance operating in liquid

Abstract

Quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) provide sensitive probes for changes at solid-solid or solid-liquid interfaces. It is essential to obtain a physical insight into the details of the interface loading mechanism to interpret the observed behaviour leading to fresh applications of AT-cut quartz resonators. In this work, a mechanical slip model of the interface between a quartz plate and a viscoelastic liquid is presented to replace the continuous displacement assumption. The electrical impedance of a compounded quartz crystal resonator is expressed as a function of the properties of liquid, and the quartz and the strength of contact attraction between the solid and liquid. The interfacial slip parameter between the solid and liquid, which is defined as the displacement transmission from solid particles to liquid bottom particles, is explicitly calculated from the complex attraction strength between the liquid and solid. Comparisons of the physical slip model with other interfacial modes used in the QCM are presented, including the continuous mode and the transmission mode based on the friction force interface. The explicit expression of the slip parameter is presented, and the influence of interfacial slip on QCM measurements is discussed with numerical results. A detailed physical description of the solid-liquid interfacial is useful for exploring fresh ideas for the use of the QCM in biological industry. A new approach by using the slip parameter measured with QCM is proposed to determine the attraction strength between the particles of a viscous liquid and solid particles. The experimental data in the literatures for a hydrophilic-coated sensor and a hydrophobic-coated sensor are used for the numerical examples. It is found that the imaginary part of the interactive strength of these two types of sensor is almost the same. The real part of the interactive strength contributes significantly to distinguish the different interface conditions for these two types of sensor.