Anomalous electrowetting of physicochemically heterogeneous surfaces

TL;DR

This study investigates anomalous electrowetting on chemically heterogeneous surfaces with micro-structured polystyrene on PDMS, revealing deviations from classical theory due to surface energy mismatch and roughness effects.

Contribution

It introduces a surface parameter into the Lippmann-Young equation to account for chemical heterogeneity and surface roughness, explaining anomalous electrowetting behavior.

Findings

Surfaces are more wettable than classical theory predicts.

A new surface parameter correlates with pinning and depinning phenomena.

The modified model aligns well with experimental data.

Abstract

In the present work, a physiochemically heterogeneous surface has been fabricated to investigate the electrowetting behaviour of the surface. The polystyrene (PS) micro-humps with varied size are developed on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface, which show an anomalous electrowetting behaviour. The surfaces are observed to be more electro-wettable than it is predicted by the classical Lippmann-Young equation. The observations are well understood considering the chemical heterogeneity of the surface, exhibiting a surface energy mismatch between the PS micro-humps and the PDMS layer. Further, the anomaly is comprehended by following the ridge formation around the triple-phase contact line and the varied surface roughness. A surface parameter is introduced in the Lippmann-Young equation that follows the experimental data with varied values of the parameter representing the physicochemically heterogeneous surfaces. A positive value of the surface parameter indicates strong pinning while a negative value represents depinning of the droplet. This parameter explains the faster electrowetting than predicted by the Lippmann-Young equation.