Contact angle hysteresis on superhydrophobic surfaces: an ionic liquid probe fluid offers mechanistic insight

Silicon/silicon dioxide surfaces containing 3 μm (width) × 6 μm (length) × 40 μm (height) staggered rhombus posts were prepared using photolithography and hydrophobized using a perfluoroalkyl-containing monofunctional silane. These surfaces exhibit water contact angles of θ(A)/θ(R) = 169°/156°. Water drops come to rest on a carefully aligned horizontal sample but roll when the surface is tilted slightly. No visible trail or evidence of water "left behind" at the receding edge of the drop is apparent on surfaces that water drops have rolled on or on samples removed from water through the air-water interface. When dimethylbis(β-hydroxyethyl)ammonium methanesulfonate (N(+)S(-), a nonvolatile ionic liquid) is used as the liquid probe fluid (instead of water), contact angles of θ(A)/θ(R) = 164°/152° are observed and ∼3-μm-diameter sessile drops are visible (by scanning electron microscopy - SEM) on the top of every post of a sample drawn out of this liquid. We interpret the formation of these sessile microdrops as arising from microcapillary bridge failure that occurs during receding events and emphasize that the capillary bridges rupture in primarily a tensile failure mode. Smaller sessile drops could be prepared using mixtures of water and N(+)S(-). Microdroplets of N(+)S(-) were also observed to form selectively at particular features on surfaces containing square holes separated by ridges. This suggests that pinning sites can be identified using microscopy and this ionic liquid probe fluid.