Predicting Contact Angle Hysteresis on Surfaces with Randomly and Periodically Distributed Cylindrical Pillars via Energy Dissipation

TL;DR

This paper develops a predictive model for contact angle hysteresis on rough surfaces with cylindrical pillars, linking energy dissipation during contact line motion to wetting behavior, validated through experiments with various liquids.

Contribution

It introduces a new methodology for calculating contact angles on random surfaces and derives equations predicting hysteresis and wetting transitions, including the novel 'cluster' concept.

Findings

Derived correlations for energy dissipation in rough surfaces.

Presented a predictive equation for contact angle hysteresis.

Introduced the 'cluster' concept to explain increased hysteresis.

Abstract

Hypothesis: Understanding contact angle hysteresis on rough surfaces is important as most industrially relevant and naturally occurring surfaces possess some form of random or structured roughness. We hypothesise that hysteresis originates from the energy dissipation during the $\textit{stick-slip}$ motion of the contact line and that this energy dissipation is key to developing a predictive equation for hysteresis. Experiments: We measured hysteresis on surfaces with randomly distributed and periodically arranged microscopic cylindrical pillars for a variety of different liquids in air. The inherent (flat surface) contact angles tested range from lyophilic ($\theta_{\rm{e}}=33.8^{\circ}$) to lyophobic ($\theta_{\rm{e}} = 112.0^{\circ}$). Findings: A new methodology for calculating the average advancing and receding contact angles on random surfaces is presented. Also, the correlations for roughness-induced energy dissipation were derived, and a predictive equation for the advancing and receding contact angles during homogeneous (Wenzel) wetting on random surfaces is presented. Significantly, equations that predict the onset of the alternate wetting conditions of hemiwicking, split-advancing, split-receding and heterogeneous (Cassie) wetting are also derived, thus defining the range of validity for the derived homogeneous wetting equation. A novel feature 'cluster' concept is introduced which explains the measurably higher hysteresis exhibited by structured surfaces compared to random surfaces observed experimentally.