Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Roughness-Induced Superhydrophobicity: A Way to Design Non-Adhesive Surfaces

Published

Author(s)

Michael Nosonovsky, Bharat Bhushan

Abstract

Non-adhesive and water-repellent surfaces are required for many tribological applications. Roughness-induced superhydrophobicty has been suggested as a way to reduce adhesion and stiction. In this paper, the theory of roughness-induced superhydrophobicity is presented. Wetting is studied as a multiscale process involving the macroscale (water droplet size), microscale (surface texture size), and nanoscale (molecular size). We study fundamental physical mechanisms of wetting, including the transition between various wetting regimes, contact angle and contact angle hysteresis. The effect of surface roughness upon wetting and capillary adhesion force is discussed. Practical recommendations for design of superhydrophobic surfaces are formulated.
Citation
Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
Volume
20
Issue
22

Keywords

contact angle, superhydrophobic surfaces

Citation

Nosonovsky, M. and Bhushan, B. (2008), Roughness-Induced Superhydrophobicity: A Way to Design Non-Adhesive Surfaces, Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created July 4, 2008, Updated February 19, 2017