Effect of electrostatic incitation on the wetting mode of a nano-drop over a pillar-arrayed surface

Abstract

The influence of the external electric field on the transition of the wetting mode over pillar-arrayed surfaces is investigated through a molecular dynamics study. The interplay between the energy barrier and the electrostatic force is analyzed by varying the pillar arrayed texture on a charged base substrate. At low density pillar texture, apart from a lesser energy barrier, the sagging of the liquid–gas interface also affects the switching of the wetting mode. A pattern map is developed to show the variation of the threshold voltage required for wetting transition at different surface topographies. The mechanism of the wetting transition on heterogeneous pillar-arrayed surfaces has also been analyzed from a molecular study. In light of the rapid development in the field of nanotechnology, the analysis of the wetting transition by an external electric field may provide significant insight towards the advancement of tunable engineered surfaces for nano-scale heat transfer and antifouling applications.