Discontinuous dewetting dynamics of highly viscous droplets on chemically heterogeneous substrates

[Display omitted] Droplet spreading on heterogeneous (chemical/structural) surfaces has revealed local disturbances that affect the advancing contact line. With droplet dewetting being less studied, we hypothesize that a receding droplet can be perturbed by localized heterogeneity which leads to irr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of colloid and interface science 2023-01, Vol.629, p.345-356
Main Authors: Jiang, Jiatong, Jackson, Frankie, Tangparitkul, Suparit, Wilson, Mark C.T., Harbottle, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Daughter droplet generation
Droplet dewetting
Heterogeneous surfaces
Highly viscous oil
Lattice Boltzmann method
Wettability boundary
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Summary:[Display omitted] Droplet spreading on heterogeneous (chemical/structural) surfaces has revealed local disturbances that affect the advancing contact line. With droplet dewetting being less studied, we hypothesize that a receding droplet can be perturbed by localized heterogeneity which leads to irregular and discontinuous dewetting of the substrate. The sessile drop method was used to study droplet dewetting at a wettability boundary. One-half of a hydrophilic surface was hydrophobically modified with either i) methyloctyldichlorosilane or ii) clustered macromolecules. A Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) simulation was also developed to determine the effect of contact angle hysteresis and boundary conditions on the droplet dynamics. The two surface treatments were optimized to produce comparable water wetting characteristics. With a negative Gibbs free energy on the hydrophilic-half, the oil droplet receded to the hydrophobic-half. On the silanized surface, the droplet was pinned and the resultant droplet shape was a distorted spherical cap, having receded uniformly on the unmodified surface. Modifying the surface with clustered macromolecules, the droplet receded slightly to form a spherical cap. However, droplet recession was non-uniform and daughter droplets formed near the wettability boundary. The LBM simulation revealed that daughter droplets formed when θR > 164°, with the final droplet shape accurately described by imposing a diffuse wettability boundary condition.
ISSN:0021-9797
1095-7103
DOI:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.09.064