Water Droplet Bouncing on a non-Superhydrophobic Si Nanosprings

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that hydrophobic silicon nanospring surfaces can effectively repel water droplets, enabling rapid rebound and potential applications in self-cleaning and liquid-repellent surfaces.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hydrophobic Si nanospring surface that suppresses wetting and influences droplet impact dynamics, with detailed analysis of the rebound behavior.

Findings

Nanospring arrays are approximately 250 nm tall and 60 nm apart.

Water droplets rebound within a few milliseconds after contact.

Nanospring morphology affects impact dynamics and rebound characteristics.

Abstract

Self-cleaning surfaces often make use of superhydrophobic coatings that repel water. Here, we report a hydrophobic Si nanospring surface, that effectively suppresses wetting by repelling water droplets. We investigated the dynamic response of Si nanospring arrays fabricated by glancing angle deposition. The vertical standing nanospring arrays were approximately 250 nm tall and 60 nm apart, which allowed the droplets to rebound within a few milliseconds after contact. Amazingly, the morphology of the nanostructures influences the impact dynamics. The rebound time and coefficient of restitution were also found to be higher for Si nanosprings than vertical SI columns. It has been proposed that the restoring force of the Si nanosprings may be responsible for the water droplet rebound and can be explained by considering the droplet/nanospring surface as a coupled spring system. These nanospring surfaces may find applications in self-cleaning windows, liquid-repellent exteriors, glass panels of solar cells, and antifouling agents for roof tiling.