Mimicking the stenocara beetle--dewetting of drops from a patterned superhydrophobic surface

This paper describes the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces that have been selectively patterned with circular hydrophilic domains. These materials mimicked the back of the stenocara beetle and collected drops of water if exposed to mist or fog. Under the effect of gravity, the drops dewetted from the hydrophilic regions once a critical volume had been reached. The surface energy in the hydrophilic regions was carefully controlled and assumed various values, allowing us to study the behavior of drops as a function of the superhydrophobic/hydrophilic contrast. We have investigated the development of drops and quantitatively analyzed the critical volumes as a function of several parameters.