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Drop transport and positioning on lubricant-impregnated surfaces

Hui Guan, Jian; Ruiz-Gutiérrez, Élfego; Xu, Ben Bin; Wood, David; McHale, Glen; Ledesma-Aguilar, Rodrigo; George Wells, Gary

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Authors

Jian Hui Guan

Élfego Ruiz-Gutiérrez

Ben Bin Xu

David Wood

Glen McHale

Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar

Gary George Wells



Abstract

We demonstrate the transport and positioning of water droplets on macro-patterned lubricant-impregnated surfaces. The macro-patterning produces menisci features in the impregnating liquid layer which interact with a droplet via a capillary mechanism similar to the Cheerios effect. These interactions control the droplet motion and positioning on an otherwise completely slippery surface. We present experimental results using a V-shape channel geometry as a model system. The interaction between deformations on the lubricant layer induced by the droplet and the underlying V-shape geometry leads to both local and global equilibrium positions for the droplet within the channel. We present a mathematical model to quantify the transition from local equilibrium states to the global equilibrium state and show that the latter can be described on the basis of a force balance along the apparent contact line of the droplet. We highlight possible applications where lubricated macro-patterned surfaces can be used to control the motion and localisation of droplets.

Citation

Hui Guan, J., Ruiz-Gutiérrez, É., Xu, B. B., Wood, D., McHale, G., Ledesma-Aguilar, R., & George Wells, G. (2017). Drop transport and positioning on lubricant-impregnated surfaces. Soft Matter, 13(18), 3404-3410. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7sm00290d

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 4, 2017
Online Publication Date Apr 11, 2017
Publication Date Apr 11, 2017
Deposit Date Jun 12, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Soft Matter
Print ISSN 1744-683X
Electronic ISSN 1744-6848
Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 18
Pages 3404-3410
DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/c7sm00290d

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