The validity of triple contact line theory from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic surfaces

Abstract The anisotropic droplet formulation is generalized from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic surfaces. An experimental method to calibrate the ellipsoidal droplet volume on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces is presented. A broad range of contact angles (CAs) is produced on the copper and stainless-steel surfaces using femtosecond laser patterning. The effects of line spacing between the laser scanning on the formation of anisotropic CAs are discussed. The comparative study of the evolution of anisotropic CAs and droplet’s spreading dynamics are studied on both surfaces. According to the triple contact line (TCL) theory, CAs are determined by the TCL between droplet and surface rather than the contact area. We presented the mathematical formalism and the experimental validity of the TCL theory on ellipsoidal droplets over a broad range of CAs, from as low as 37°–172°. This work experimentally validated the TCL theory over a broad range of CAs with good confidence.