In situ Raman composition profiling in drying droplets

Overview & Synopsis

Spray drying has become a tool for engineering solid particles to meet the growing demand for better end-use particulate material properties. However, this industrial process still presents scientific challenges, such as a detailed description of the components distribution during drying of multi-component droplets. In order to help overcoming such challenge, in the present work, an in situ Raman technique is applied to assess the temporal and spatial distribution of the components in acoustically levitated drying droplets. Using a dextran-sucrose-water droplet with different solute proportions, different results were experimentally demonstrated: a dextran-rich surface and a sucrose-rich core in a particle; dense or bowl-like particles depending on the dextran-to-sucrose initial proportion.