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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
Published on: June 14, 2019
Guided Self-Propelled Leaping of Droplets on a Micro-Anisotropic Superhydrophobic Surface
Jie Liu1, Haoyuan Guo2, Bo Zhang3
1Key Laboratory of Green Printing, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Abstract:
By introducing anisotropic micropatterns on a superhydrophobic surface, we demonstrate that water microdroplets can coalesce and leap over the surface spontaneously along a prescribed direction. This controlled behavior is attributed to anisotropic liquid-solid adhesion. An analysis relating the preferential leaping probability to the geometrical parameters of the system is presented with consistent experimental results. Surfaces with this rare quality demonstrate many unique characteristics, such as self-powered, and relatively long-distance transport of microdroplets by "relay" coalescence-induced leaping.
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