Controlling drop size and polydispersity using chemically patterned surfaces
arXiv:cond-mat/0611055 · doi:10.1021/la062082w
Abstract
We explore numerically the feasibility of using chemical patterning to control the size and polydispersity of micron-scale drops. The simulations suggest that it is possible to sort drops by size or wetting properties by using an array of hydrophilic stripes of different widths. We also demonstrate that monodisperse drops can be generated by exploiting the pinning of a drop on a hydrophilic stripe. Our results follow from using a lattice Boltzmann algorithm to solve the hydrodynamic equations of motion of the drops and demonstrate the applicability of this approach as a design tool for micofluidic devices with chemically patterned surfaces.
16 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Langmuir
References in corpus (3)
Cited by in corpus (5)
- Anisotropic drop morphologies on corrugated surfaces
- Pinning-depinning mechanism of the contact line during evaporation on chemically patterned surfaces: A lattice Boltzmann study
- Droplet motion on chemically heterogeneous substrates with mass transfer. II. Three-dimensional dynamics
- Droplet spreading and pinning on heterogeneous substrates
- Optimal Control of Droplets on a Solid Surface using Distributed Contact Angles