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Friction Measurements with Picoliter Droplets Using Scanning Probe Microscopy.

Diego Cortés¹, Michael Kappl¹, Hans-Jürgen Butt¹

¹Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.

Physical Review Letters

|August 12, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Moving liquid drops slow down on surfaces due to defects. Researchers used picoliter droplets and atomic force microscopy to find that friction occurs only near the contact line, improving understanding of liquid-surface interactions.

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Area of Science:

Surface science
Fluid dynamics
Tribology

Background:

Surface defects and chemical heterogeneities impede the movement of liquid droplet contact lines.
Quantitative understanding of the pinning and friction mechanisms at the three-phase contact line remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantitatively investigate the friction forces and energy dissipation associated with moving picoliter droplets on hydrophobic surfaces.
To determine the specific region of the contact line responsible for friction and its interaction with surface defects.

Main Methods:

Utilized an atomic force microscope (AFM) to precisely control and slide ≈100-picoliter water-glycerol mixture droplets across hydrophobic surfaces.
Measured friction forces at the nanoscale by tracking the droplet's movement and the forces exerted by surface defects.
Imaged isolated nanospherical defects to analyze their impact on droplet friction.

Main Results:

Friction forces are predominantly generated within a narrow region (<200 nm) surrounding the three-phase contact line.
Quantified the force and energy dissipation occurring when the droplet's front and rear interfaces interact with nanospherical defects.
Observed a discrepancy between experimental measurements and theoretical predictions for defect-induced pinning and friction.

Conclusions:

The study highlights the critical role of the nanoscale contact line region in determining friction for moving droplets.
Provides a quantitative framework for understanding droplet-surface interactions and friction, particularly in the presence of surface imperfections.
Suggests refinements to theoretical models are needed to accurately capture the physics of contact line pinning and energy dissipation at defects.