The paper reports on the comparison of the wetting properties of superhydrophobic silicon nanowires (NWs), using drop impact impalement and electrowetting (EW) experiments. A correlation between the resistance to impalement on both EW and drop impact is shown. From the results, it is evident that when increasing the length and density of NWs (i) the thresholds for drop impact and EW irreversibility increase and (ii) the contact-angle hysteresis after impalement decreases. This suggests that the structure of the NW network could allow for partial impalement, hence preserving the reversibility, and that EW acts the same way as an external pressure. The most robust of our surfaces shows a threshold to impalement higher than 35 kPa, while most of the superhydrophobic surfaces tested so far have impalement thresholds smaller than 10 kPa.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Research Field:	Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Manufacturing
Objective Group:	Instrumentation
Objective Field:	Scientific instruments
UTAS Author:	Lapierre, F (Dr Florian Lapierre)
ID Code:	100004
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	75
Deposited By:	Austn Centre for Research in Separation Science
Deposited On:	2015-04-22
Last Modified:	2015-08-19
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