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We investigate theoretically the possibility of a wetting transition induced by geometric roughness of a solid substrate for the case where the flat substrate does not show a wetting layer. Our approach makes use of a novel closed-form…
The instability, dynamics and morphological transitions of patterns in thin liquid films on periodic striped surfaces (consisting of alternating less and more wettable stripes) are investigated based on 3-D nonlinear simulations that…
3D printing technologies are currently enabling the fabrication of objects with complex architectures and tailored properties. In such framework, the production of 3D optical structures, which are typically based on optical transparent…
Plasmonic nanomaterials offer a direct and effective approach to harnessing solar energy. Specifically, plasmonic semiconductors enable a highly efficient light-to-heat conversion process, outperforming noble metals in stability,…
A direct electronics printing technique through atomized spraying for patterning room temperature liquid metal droplets on desired substrate surfaces is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for the first time. This method has…
Technologies that require surface wetting or evaporative cooling require the ability to efficiently spread fluids across large areas, as increased wetted surface area increases evaporative flux. However, the intrinsic surfacial and bulk…
Surface energy is fundamental in controlling surface properties and surface-driven processes like heterogeneous catalysis, as adsorption energy is. It is thus crucial to establish an effective scheme to determine surface energy and its…
Superomniphobic textures are at the frontier of surface design for vast arrays of applications. Despite recent significant advances in fabrication methods for reentrant and doubly reentrant microstructures, design optimisation remains a…
Several devices for substrate texture detection based on diffractive optics, for paper, textiles and non-wovens have been proposed in the past for direct inspection during the production processes. In spite of the presence of devices…
Femtosecond pulsed lasers have been widely used over the past decades due to their capability to fabricate precise patterns at the micro- and nano- lengths scales. A key issue for efficient material processing is the determination of the…
A series of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surfaces decorated by Cu nanoparticles (NP) with gradually varied morphology were prepared by high-pressure CO2 treatment at various time spans. Combining the characterizations of transmission…
Both the shape of individual particles and their surface properties contribute to the strength of a granular material under shear. Here we show the degree to which these two aspects can be intertwined. In experiments on assemblies of 3D…
We report a decreased surface wettability when polymer films on a glass substrate are treated by ultra-fast laser pulses in a back-illumination geometry. We propose that back-illumination through the substrate confines chemical changes…
We report on the development of some process capabilities for a polymer-based, multi-layer microelectrofluidic platform, namely: the hot embossing process, metallization on polymer and polymer bonding. Hot embossing experiments were…
Wetting phenomena plays an interesting role in the technological development of materials. Recently, much attention has been directed to the study of magnetic solid films. To understand, theoretically, the effect of surface on wetting and…
Controlling the spatial distribution of liquid droplets on surfaces via surface energy patterning can be used to control material delivery to specified regions via selective liquid/solid wetting. While studies of the equilibrium shape of…
Patterning solid surfaces with varying wettability is important to manage droplets in microfluidics, heat transfer and printing. Solid surface roughness poses fundamental limitations including contact-line pinning and solid friction. Here,…
3D printing has revolutionized the manufacturing of volumetric components and structures for use in various fields. Owing to the advent of photo-curable resins, several fully volumetric light-based techniques have been recently developed to…
Investigation techniques based on tip-enhanced optical effects, capable to yield spatial resolutions down to nanometers level, have enabled a wide palette of important discoveries over the past twenty years. Recently, their underlying…
We report molecular dynamics simulation results on the equilibrium properties of polymer thin films adsorbed onto flat and curved substrates. We first systematically determine the contact angle of polymer droplets on flat substrates as a…