An Electrowetting Model for Rough Surfaces Under Low Voltage

Authors: Dai, Wei; Zhao, Ya-Pu

Source: Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, Volume 22, Number 2, 2008 , pp. 217-229(13)

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Abstract:

Electrowetting is one of the most effective methods to enhance wettability. A significant change of contact angle for the liquid droplet can result from the surface microstructures and the external electric field, without altering the chemical composition of the system. During the electrowetting process on a rough surface, the droplet exhibits a sharp transition from the Cassie-Baxter to the Wenzel regime at a low critical voltage. In this paper, a theoretical model for electrowetting is put forth to describe the dynamic electrical control of the wetting behavior at the low voltage, considering the surface topography. The theoretical results are found to be in good agreement with the existing experimental results.

Keywords: ELECTROWETTING; CONTACT ANGLE; ROUGH SURFACE; YOUNG'S EQUATION; LIPPMANN-YOUNG EQUATION; WENZEL'S EQUATION; CASSIE-BAXTER EQUATION

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156856108X306966

Affiliations: 1: State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics (LNM), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China

Publication date: 2008-04-01