Elastic Instability and Contact Angles on Hydrophobic Surfaces with Periodic Textures

A.L. Dubov (1, 2) , J. Teisseire (1) , E. Barthel (1)

1 SVI - Surface du Verre et Interfaces
2 A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry

Surface textures are used to impart advanced wetting properties to surfaces. However understanding the surface response in relation to the nature of the texture is still a challenge. Here we have measured advancing and receding contact angles on model hydrophobic surfaces with cylindrical pillars as a function of the pillar spacing. We show that the dependances of both advancing and receding contact angles upon spacing are well accounted for by a simple model of the instability of the triple line, following the line elasticity theory by Joanny and de Gennes (J. Chem. Phys. 81 (1984) 552). This result demonstrates the prominent role of the triple line elasticity in determining the wetting properties of textured surfaces.

Mots clés: Wetting; Surface Tension; Adhesion

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

A.L. Dubov, J. Teisseire, E. Barthel. Elastic Instability and Contact Angles on Hydrophobic Surfaces with Periodic Textures. EPL - Europhysics Letters, 2012, 97, pp.26003. ⟨10.1209/095-5075/97/97/26003⟩. ⟨hal-00649142⟩