In a recent work published on Physical Review Letters, researchers from the Soft and Living Materials group have demonstrated that anisotropic wetting can be achieved by simply stretching a soft substrate.
Anisotropic wetting is typically achieved, both in nature and the lab, via involved topographical or chemical patterning of surfaces. This work demonstrates that anisotropic wetting can be achieved with a much simpler system: a flat, soft, stretched substrate. The resulting anisotropy has a marked effect on both the static and dynamic wetting behavior of droplets on these substrates.
Droplets Sit and Slide Anisotropically on Soft, Stretched Substrates
Katrina Smith-Mannschott, Qin Xu, Stefanie Heyden, Nicolas Bain, Jacco H. Snoeijer, Eric R. Dufresne, and Robert W. Style
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 158004. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.158004
