Effective mass layer of a single drop of liquid located on a quartz crystal microbalance

Abstract

A model describing the frequency response of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) loaded with a single drop of liquid was established. The frequency shift of a QCM loaded with a single drop of liquid depends on only the effective mass layer instead of the total mass of the liquid droplet, and the effective mass layer is relevant to the droplet radius, the operating frequency of the QCM, and the density and viscosity of the liquid. In addition, a novel verification experiment was designed and performed, which indicated the validity of this model.