Highlighting the Role of Dielectric Thickness and Surface Topography on Electrospreading Dynamics

The electrospreading behavior of a liquid drop on a solid surface is of fundamental interest in many technological processes. Here we study the effect of the solid topography as well as the dielectric thickness on the dynamics of electrostatically-induced spreading by performing experiments and simulations. In particular, we use an efficient continuum-level modeling approach which accounts for the solid substrate and the electric field distribution coupled with the liquid interfacial shape. Although spreading dynamics depend on the solid surface topography, when voltage is applied electrospreading is independent of the geometric details of the substrate but highly depends on the solid dielectric thickness. In particular, electrospreading dynamics are accelerated with thicker dielectrics. The latter comes to be added to our recent work by Kavousanakis et al., Langmuir, 2018, which also highlights the key role of the dielectric thickness on electrowetting-related phenomena.