How Nanostructures Affect Water Droplet Nucleation on Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Nucleation is the first stage of phase change phenomena, including condensation on nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces. Despite plenty of theoretical studies on the effect of nanostructure density and shape on water droplet nucleation, not many experimental investigations have been reported. Here, we show both experimentally and theoretically that a moderate increase in the nanostructure density can lead to an increase in the nucleation density of water droplets because of the decreased energy barrier of nucleation in cavities formed between the nanostructures. Specifically, we observed droplets aligned in regions with denser nanostructures. The number and average volume of the aligned droplets in these regions were larger than that of the droplets in the surrounding areas. However, nucleation in cavities subsequently caused initial pinning of the droplet base within the nanostructures, forming a balloonlike, slightly elongated droplet shape. The dewetting transition of the pinned droplets from the Wenzel state to the unpinned Cassie state was predicted by quantifying the aspect ratio of droplets ranging from 3 to 30 μm. Moreover, the coalescence-jumping of droplets was followed by a new cycle of droplet condensation in an aligned pattern in an emptied area. These findings offer guidelines for designing enhanced superhydrophobic surfaces for water and energy applications.