Droplet Removal by Capillary Lifting

Abstract

The removal of liquid droplets from solid surfaces is central to cleaning, coatings and oil recovery. Here we investigate liquid droplets capillary lifted by an immiscible working liquid. The rising working liquid triggers the formation of a capillary bridge between the solid and the air interface, which can lead to full, partial, or no droplet dewetting. Our theoretical model predicts, and experiments confirm, that the effectiveness of droplet removal can be tuned by manipulating the droplet contact angle with the solid and the interfacial tensions at play. Significantly, dewetting can be enhanced by employing working liquids with high interfacial tension, in contrast to common surface cleaning strategies where surfactants are used to reduce interfacial tension. Our findings can open new avenues for droplet manipulation with reduced resources and more sustainable environmental impact.