Control the droplet motion by using chemically stripe-patterned surfaces

The present work numerically demonstrates a simple but effective method of controlling the droplet motion direction by utilizing the wettability properties of the substrate and a stripe on the substrate. Three motion manners, i.e. glide-only, glide-cross, and cross-only motions, are identified and analyzed. The simulation results show that droplets with different sizes prefer different motion manners, and the stripe width can influence the motion manner further. This study could provide a new idea for the design of relevant applications, such as anti-icing treatment of road and building surfaces, by employing the wettability property of the surfaces.