In situ electric-driven reversible switching of water-droplet adhesion on a superhydrophobic surface

Abstract

An intelligent superhydrophobic surface was prepared using a breath figure and plasma etching method. The new surface features an in situ fully electric-driven switching of superhydrophobic adhesion, which can be switched more than ten times, from high to low, in a reversible fashion. In addition, the adhesion of insulation type polyaniline (PI) superhydrophobic films and conductivity type poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) superhydrophobic films was also systematically studied by applied voltage and droplet transfer was achieved on the P3HT surface. Furthermore, the detailed principles are discussed, which might shed light on efficient exploitation of superhydrophobic liquid/solid interfaces for smart microfluidic control, transport of microdroplets, biochemical separation, smart devices and localized chemical reactions.