Departure of condensation droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces

This article focuses on the departure of multidroplet coalescence on a superhydrophobic surface with nanoscale roughness. Out-of-plane jumping events triggered by multidroplet coalescence and a single fallen droplet are observed. Experimental data show that the departure of droplets due to the multidroplets coalescence and the jumping modes is dominant for the removal of condensed droplets from the substrate. The energy barrier is easier to overcome and the critical size of the self-propelled droplets could be further decreased in multidroplet coalescence jumping mode. A general theoretical model is developed which accounts quantitatively for determining the jumping velocity and the critical size of the multidroplet coalescence.