Shear Distortion and Failure of Capillary Bridges. Wetting Information Beyond Contact Angle Analysis

Water capillary bridges are prepared that span hydrophilic pinning features on parallel opposing smooth, flat, and hydrophobic surfaces. These bridges are distorted by shearing the parallel plates at a low rate. The capillary bridges lengthen and distort to balance Laplace pressure (equilibrate mean curvature) as the features are separated and eventually rupture at a distance that is a function of the liquid volume, the advancing and receding contact angles of the surfaces, the separation between the parallel surfaces, and in particular, the shape and orientation of the hydrophilic pinning features. Two modes of capillary bridge failure are observed: (1) tensile, in which the capillary bridge breaks to form sessile drops on both the upper and lower surfaces, and (2) sessile, in which sessile capillary bridge rupture occurs on one surface to form a puddle (contact-line-distorted sessile drop) on the feature and a retained capillary bridge spanning the hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic feature on the opposing surface. The shape and orientation of the features control the mode of capillary bridge failure as well as the distribution of water between the two separate sessile drops or the retained capillary bridge and the puddle.