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Mapping micrometer-scale wetting properties of superhydrophobic surfaces

2019; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 116; Issue: 50 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.1916772116

1091-6490

Dan Daniel, Chee Leng Lay, Anqi Sng, Coryl Jing Jun Lee, Darren C. J. Neo, Xing Yi Ling, Nikodem Tomczak,

Fluid Dynamics and Thin Films

There is a huge interest in developing superrepellent surfaces for antifouling and heat-transfer applications. To characterize the wetting properties of such surfaces, the most common approach is to place a millimetric-sized droplet and measure its contact angles. The adhesion and friction forces can then be inferred indirectly using Furmidge’s relation. While easy to implement, contact angle measurements are semiquantitative and cannot resolve wetting variations on a surface. Here, we attach a micrometric-sized droplet to an atomic force microscope cantilever to directly measure adhesion and friction forces with nanonewton force resolutions. We spatially map the micrometer-scale wetting properties of superhydrophobic surfaces and observe the time-resolved pinning–depinning dynamics as the droplet detaches from or moves across the surface.