Author(s): Zhang, X (Zhang, Xiang); Du, AZ (Du, Azhen); Luo, YS (Luo, Yongsheng); Lv, CJ (Lv, Cunjing); Zhang, YS (Zhang, Yu Shrike); Yan, SJ (Yan, Shujie); Wu, YD (Wu, Yuanda); Qiu, JJ (Qiu, Jingjiang); He, Y (He, Yong); Wang, LX (Wang, Lixia); Li, Q (Li, Qian)

Source: SURFACES AND INTERFACES Volume: 33 Article Number: 102242 DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2022.102242 Published: OCT 2022

Abstract: Controlling morphology of liquids on solid surfaces plays an important role in both fundamental research and practical applications. We found that, the shape of the liquid after contact between a droplet and a surface could be tuned by designing the hydrophilic micropillar arrays forming this surface. Such a wetting behavior is a result of imbibition in the micropillars, leading to specific final spreading distance and pattern of the droplet. During the spreading, the morphology of the droplet is controlled by both the arrangement and shape of the micropillars. The experimental results indicated that the surface energy barriers caused by the micropillar edges was a key factor accounting for the anisotropic spreading of the liquid. Moreover, the shape of the meniscus at the front location of the spreading liquid was rebuilt based on computational simulation, which agreed well with the experimental data. Interesting, the time-dependence of the displacement of the liquid transport at the edges was found to be different from that of a wicking film. Theoretical models were accordingly proposed to reveal the shape formation of liquids on such micropillar-structured surfaces.

Accession Number: WOS:000861581600002

ISSN: 2468-0230

Full Text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468023022005077?via%3Dihub