Spontaneous Breakdown of Superhydrophobicity

Mauro Sbragaglia, Alisia M. Peters, Christophe Pirat, Bram M. Borkent, Rob G. H. Lammertink, Matthias Wessling, and Detlef Lohse
Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 156001 – Published 12 October 2007

Abstract

In some cases water droplets can completely wet microstructured superhydrophobic surfaces. The dynamics of this rapid process is analyzed by ultrahigh-speed imaging. Depending on the scales of the microstructure, the wetting fronts propagate smoothly and circularly or—more interestingly—in a stepwise manner, leading to a growing square-shaped wetted area: entering a new row perpendicular to the direction of front propagation takes milliseconds, whereas once this has happened, the row itself fills in microseconds (“zipping”). Numerical simulations confirm this view and are in quantitative agreement with the experiments.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 29 May 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.156001

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Mauro Sbragaglia1, Alisia M. Peters2, Christophe Pirat1, Bram M. Borkent1, Rob G. H. Lammertink2, Matthias Wessling2, and Detlef Lohse1

  • 1Physics of Fluids, Faculty of Science and Technology, Impact and Mesa+ Institutes, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
  • 2Membrane Technology Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, Impact and Mesa+ Institutes, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 15 — 12 October 2007

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×