Cylindrical chains of water drops condensing on microstructured lubricant-infused surfaces

We studied the condensation of water drops on a micro-structured lubricant-infused surfaces. Hierarchical micro-prism surfaces were fabricated by soft imprinting with wet TiO nanoparticle paste. After hydrophobization, the patterned surfaces were infused with silicone oil as a lubricant. When coolin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2016-01, Vol.12 (46), p.9377-9382
Main Authors: Kajiya, Tadashi, Wooh, Sanghyuk, Lee, Yunchan, Char, Kookheon, Vollmer, Doris, Butt, Hans-Jürgen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alignment
Arrays
Condensation
Humidity
Lubricants
Silicones
Titanium dioxide
Water drops
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Summary:We studied the condensation of water drops on a micro-structured lubricant-infused surfaces. Hierarchical micro-prism surfaces were fabricated by soft imprinting with wet TiO nanoparticle paste. After hydrophobization, the patterned surfaces were infused with silicone oil as a lubricant. When cooling at high humidity (over 80%), water drops nucleate and start growing on the surface. Once they have reached a certain size, the drops at neighboring channels of the micro-prisms attract each other and spontaneously form cylindrical chains. These chains of drops align perpendicular to the prism array. The morphology and the length-to-width ratio of the chains of drops depend on the thickness of the lubricant layer. This new concept of water drop alignment on lubricant-infused surfaces offers a new route for pattern formation with condensed drops.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c6sm01883a