Dewetting transition of water on nanostructured and wettability patterned surfaces: A molecular dynamics study

Engineering the dropwise condensation of water on surfaces is crucial in extensive applications including power generation, thermal management, water harvesting and desalination. Here we propose an efficacious avenue to retard pinning by molecular dynamics simulation, wherein the volume fraction, tilt angle and hybrid wettability ratio are adjusted in a progressive manner to obtain the optimal combination. The results demonstrate that a larger volume fraction leads to better dewetting transition ability and condensation performance. Additionally, the dewetting transition ability of nanocone surfaces is superior to that of nanopillar surfaces, and 10 degrees tilt angle endows surfaces with the best dewetting transition ability compared to other tilt angles. Moreover, 1/3 hybrid wettability ratio can effectively suspend the liquid and resist it from pinning to the texture of surfaces. Finally, an optimal surface characterized by fraction1 volume fraction, 10 degrees tilt angle and 1/3 hybrid wettability ratio is obtained. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.