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Drop impact on chemically structured arrays

Ulrike Mock1, Tobias Michel2, Cameron Tropea2, Ilia Roisman3 and Jürgen Rühe1

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We describe recent investigations on the impact behaviour of liquid drops onto chemically structured surfaces. The surface patterns were prepared via photochemical attachment of polymer molecules with different hydrophilicities using self-assembled monolayers of benzophenone bearing silanes. Immobilization of the polymer monolayers was followed by an ablation process to generate a chemical surface pattern. Impact experiments on systems consisting of very hydrophobic poly(perfluoroalkylethyl)acrylate coatings and hydrophilic areas show that within certain limitations the water drop has a strong tendency to reach the hydrophilic spots, even for inclined substrates. Impact experiments of drops on arrays of hydrophilic spots on the background of a perfluorinated polymer show that the drops spontaneously self-centre on the lithographically generated pattern. The obtained results suggest that the process can be used to circumvent some of the current problems in micro-array fabrication.


PACS

47.55.dr Interactions with surfaces

68.08.Bc Wetting

68.47.Pe Langmuir-Blodgett films on solids; polymers on surfaces; biological molecules on surfaces

Subjects

Soft matter, liquids and polymers

Fluid dynamics

Surfaces, interfaces and thin films

Dates

Issue 9 (9 March 2005)

Received 24 November 2004

Published 18 February 2005



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