TY - JOUR
T1 - Droplets Sit and Slide Anisotropically on Soft, Stretched Substrates
AU - Smith-Mannschott, Katrina
AU - Xu, Qin
AU - Heyden, Stefanie
AU - Bain, Nicolas
AU - Snoeijer, Jacco H.
AU - Dufresne, Eric R.
AU - Style, Robert W.
PY - 2021/4/15
Y1 - 2021/4/15
N2 - Anisotropically wetting substrates enable useful control of droplet behavior across a range of applications. Usually, these involve chemically or physically patterning the substrate surface, or applying gradients in properties like temperature or electrical field. Here, we show that a flat, stretched, uniform soft substrate also exhibits asymmetric wetting, both in terms of how droplets slide and in their static shape. Droplet dynamics are strongly affected by stretch: Glycerol droplets on silicone substrates with a 23% stretch slide 67% faster in the direction parallel to the applied stretch than in the perpendicular direction. Contrary to classical wetting theory, static droplets in equilibrium appear elongated, oriented parallel to the stretch direction. Both effects arise from droplet-induced deformations of the substrate near the contact line.
AB - Anisotropically wetting substrates enable useful control of droplet behavior across a range of applications. Usually, these involve chemically or physically patterning the substrate surface, or applying gradients in properties like temperature or electrical field. Here, we show that a flat, stretched, uniform soft substrate also exhibits asymmetric wetting, both in terms of how droplets slide and in their static shape. Droplet dynamics are strongly affected by stretch: Glycerol droplets on silicone substrates with a 23% stretch slide 67% faster in the direction parallel to the applied stretch than in the perpendicular direction. Contrary to classical wetting theory, static droplets in equilibrium appear elongated, oriented parallel to the stretch direction. Both effects arise from droplet-induced deformations of the substrate near the contact line.
KW - 2022 OA procedure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104836581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.158004
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.158004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85104836581
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 126
JO - Physical review letters
JF - Physical review letters
IS - 15
M1 - 158004
ER -