Modeling non-wetting performances of superlyophobic surfaces based on local contact line

Abstract

Superlyophobic surfaces (SLS) are promising as the novel universal platform for microfluidics due to the unique super-repellency and extremely low adhesion for almost all liquids, however, there are no adequate models which can predict well their non-wetting performances, especially the pressure stability and the contact angle hysteresis (CAH). This paper proposes a pressure stability criterion and a CAH analytic expression based on the local contact line analysis, which are in excellent agreement with the experimental results. These achievements enable precise non-wettability design for both water and oil in digital microfluidics.