Surface Charge Deposition by Moving Drops Reduces Contact Angles

Forced Wetting of Shear-Thinning Fluids in Confined Capillaries

Dynamic wetting in confined spaces is pivotal for the functional efficiency of biological organisms and offers significant potential for optimizing microdevices. The fluids encountered in such scenarios often exhibit shear-thinning behavior, which gives rise to complex interfacial phenomena. Here, we present an intriguing wetting phenomenon for shear-thinning fluids in confined capillary spaces. The employed shear-thinning fluids, carboxymethyl cellulose aqueous solutions with mass fractions of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt %, exhibit an intermediate state between ideal viscoelastic liquids, viscoelastic solids, and gel-like properties. We elucidate the geometric effect on its capillary wetting behavior, demonstrating that distortion of the moving contact line alters flow dynamics near the front corner, modifying the viscous resistance. This intricate interplay between the modified viscous resistance and the driving force results in a novel dynamic equilibrium distinct from that in Newtonian fluids. We further reveal that the viscous resistance in confined capillaries is controlled by both the morphology of the moving contact line and the shear-thinning exponent, particularly within the range of 0.7 to 1. This novel mechanism provides a pathway for manipulating the wetting dynamics of complex fluids in confined spaces.

Surface charge density and induced currents by self-charging sliding drops

Spontaneous charge separation in drops sliding over a hydrophobized insulator surface is a well-known phenomenon and lots of efforts have been made to utilize this effect for energy harvesting. For maximizing the efficiency of such devices, a comprehensive understanding of the dewetted surface charge would be required to quantitatively predict the electric current signals, in particular for drop sequences. Here, we use a method based on mirror charge detection to locally measure the surface charge density after drops move over a hydrophobic surface. For this purpose, we position a metal electrode beneath the hydrophobic substrate to measure the capacitive current induced by the moving drop. Furthermore, we investigate drop-induced charging on different dielectric surfaces together with the surface neutralization processes. The surface neutralizes over a characteristic time, which is influenced by the substrate and the surrounding environment. We present an analytical model that describes the slide electrification using measurable parameters such as the surface charge density and its neutralization time. Understanding the model parameters and refining them will enable a targeted optimization of the efficiency in solid-liquid charge separation.

Spontaneous Wetting Induced by Contact-Electrification at Liquid-Solid Interface

Wettability significantly influences various surface interactions and applications at the liquid-solid interface. However, the understanding is complicated by the intricate charge exchange occurring through contact electrification (CE) during this process. The understanding of the influence of triboelectric charge on wettability remains challenging, especially due to the complexities involved in concurrently measuring contact angles and interfacial electrical signals. Here, the relationship is investigated between surface charge density and change of contact angle of dielectric films after contact with water droplets. It is observed that the charge exchange when water spared lead to a spontaneous wetting phenomenon, which is termed as the contact electrification induced wetting (CEW). Notably, these results demonstrate a linear dependence between the change of contact angle (CA) of the materials and the density of surface charge on the solid surface. Continuous CEW tests show that not only the static CA but also the dynamics of wetting are influenced by the accumulation charges at the interface. The mechanism behind CEW involves the redistribution of surface charges on a solid surface and polar water molecules within liquid. This interaction results in a decrease in interface energy, leading to a reduction in the CA. Ab initio calculations suggest that the reduction in interface energy may stem from the enhanced surface charge on the substrate, which strengthens the hydrogen bond interaction between water and the substrate. These findings have the potential to advance the understanding of CE and wetting phenomena, with applications in energy harvesting, catalysis, and droplet manipulation at liquid-solid interfaces.

The influence of ions and humidity on charging of solid hydrophobic surfaces in slide electrification

Water drops sliding down inclined hydrophobic, insulating surfaces spontaneously deposit electric charges. However, it is not yet clear how the charges are deposited. The influence of added non-hydrolysable salt, acid, or base in the sliding water drops as well as the surrounding humidity on surface electrification and charge formation is also not yet fully understood. Here, we measure the charging on hydrophobic solid surfaces (coated with PFOTS or PDMS) by sliding drops with varying concentration for different types of solutions. Solutions of NaCl, CaCl2, KNO3, HCl, and NaOH, were studied whose concentrations varied in a range of 0.01 to 100 mM. The charge increased slightly at low concentrations and decreased at higher concentrations. We attribute this decrease to the combined effect of charge screening as the non-hydrolysable salt concentration increases and pH driven charge regulation. The effect of humidity on the measured charge was tested over the range from 10% to 90% of humidity. It was found that the influence of humidity on the charge measurements below 70% humidity is low.

High Voltages in Sliding Water Drops

Water drops on insulating hydrophobic substrates can generate electric potentials of kilovolts upon sliding for a few centimeters. We show that the drop saturation voltage corresponds to an amplified value of the solid-liquid surface potential at the substrate. The amplification is given by the substrate geometry, the drop and substrate dielectric properties, and the Debye length within the liquid. Next to enabling an easy and low-cost way to measure surface- and zeta- potentials, the high drop voltages have implications for energy harvesting, droplet microfluidics, and electrostatic discharge protection.