Related papers: Small is beautiful, and dry
Soft solids and their surface deformations control the response of many natural and artificial systems. Yet, their underlying properties are vigorously debated, particularly for polymer networks. While molecular-scale theories predict no…
Relative motion between soft wet solids arises in a number of applications in natural and artificial settings, and invariably couples elastic deformation and fluid flow. We explore this in a minimal setting by considering a fluid-immersed…
No surface is perfectly planar at all scales. The notion of flatness of a surface therefore depends on the size of the probe used to observe it. As a consequence rough interfaces are abundant in nature. Here the old, but still active field…
The shape of a liquid-air interface advancing on a heterogeneous surface was studied experimentally, together with the force induced by the pinning of the contact line to surface defects. Different surfaces were considered with circular…
From soap-covered dishes to freshly cleaned floors, surfactants can make surfaces slippery; yet, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we identify the molecular origin behind this ubiquitous phenomenon using macroscopic…
Wettability of a surface depends on both surface chemistry and topography. To move a three-phase contact line, a de-pinning force needs to be applied, which is of practical importance in various applications. However, a unified…
Inhomogeneities in deposition may lead to formation of rough surfaces, whose height fluctuations can be probed directly by scanning microscopy, or indirectly by scattering. Analytical or numerical treatments of simple growth models suggest…
Realistic fluid-solid interaction potentials are essential in description of confined fluids especially in the case of geometric heterogeneous surfaces. Correlated random field is considered as a model of random surface with high geometric…
There are currently three main classes of high-performance liquid-repellent surfaces: micro-/nano-structured lotus-effect superhydrophobic surfaces, flat surfaces grafted with 'liquid-like' polymer brushes, and various lubricated surfaces.…
Recent experiments with droplets impacting a macro-textured superhydrophobic surfaces revealed new regimes of bouncing with a remarkable reduction of the contact time. We present here a comprehensive numerical study that reveals the physics…
Soft lubricated contacts exhibit complex interfacial behaviours governed by the coupled effects of multiscale surface roughness and non-linear fluid-solid interactions. Accurately capturing this interplay across thin-film flows is…
Superhydrophobic surfaces dramatically reduce skin friction of overlying liquid flows. These surfaces are complex and numerical simulations usually rely on models for reducing this complexity. One of the simplest consists in finding an…
Confinement can significantly alter fluid properties, offering potential for specific technological applications. However, achieving precise control over the structural complexity of confined fluids and soft matter remains challenging, as…
Nanostructures are commonly used for developing superhydrophobic surfaces. However, available wetting theoretical models ignore the effect of vacuum photon-modes alteration on van der Waals forces and thus on hydrophobicity. Using…
Tree frogs possess soft structured toe pads with channels that help squeeze out fluid from the region between the toe pad and the contacting surfaces. This structure enables them to walk on wet and rough surfaces. We present our preliminary…
The influence of surface constraints on the self-assembly of liquid droplets is investigated. A semi-quantitative explanation for large scale pattern formation consisting of small scale closely arranged droplets inside the large scale…
Clarifying the factors that control the contact angle of a liquid on a solid substrate is a long-standing scientific problem pertinent across physics, chemistry and materials science. Progress has been hampered by the lack of a…
The failure of roughness parameters to predict surface properties stems from their inherent scale-dependence; in other words, the measured value depends on the way it was measured. Here we take advantage of this scale-dependence to develop…
Nanofluidics is an emerging field offering innovative solutions for energy harvesting and desalination. The efficiency of these applications depends strongly on liquid-solid slip, arising from a favorable ratio between viscosity and…
A macroscopically nominal flat surface is rough at the nanoscale level and consists of nanoasperities. Therefore, the frictional properties of the macroscale-level rough surface are determined by the mechanical behaviors of nanoasperity…