Wetting phenomena, i.e. the spreading of a liquid over a dry solid surface, are important for understanding how plants and insects imbibe water and moisture and for miniaturization in chemistry and biotechnology, among other examples. They pose fundamental challenges and possibilities, especially in dynamic situations. The surface chemistry and micro-scale roughness may determine the macroscopic spreading flow. The question here is how dynamic wetting depends on the topography of the substrate, i.e. the actual geometry of the roughness elements. To this end, we have formulated a toy model that accounts for the roughness shape, which is tested against a series of spreading experiments made on asymmetric sawtooth surface structures. The spreading speed in different directions relative to the surface pattern is found to be well described by the toy model. The toy model also shows the mechanism by which the shape of the roughness together with the line friction determines the observed slowing down of the spreading.

Hindrance of dynamic wetting due to surface microstructures can be deactivated by applying electric fields.

To solve the problem of lack of thermal percolation in thermal interface materials (TIM), we propose a two-step synthesis method to realize thermally percolated nanofiber network in polymer matrix. First, by packing vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs) on top of aluminum heat sink and integrally sintering the whole material, the aluminum partially melts and connects the VGCF network, forming a continuous thermal path, i.e., realizing thermal percolation. Second, the pores in the hybrid network are filled by Silicone oil to obtain a polymer nanocomposite. The direct synthesis of VGCF-aluminum network on the heat sink (onsite synthesis) omits pasting process of the TIM, and thus, removes the restriction on the network morphology. By this onsite synthesis method, we reinforce thermal contact not only between the nanofibers but also between nanofibers and the heat sink. By testing the developed TIM for thermal contact to silicon surface, we demonstrate the potential to significantly reduce thermal contact resistance from what can be achieved by a conventional TIM.