Development of Droplet Sliding Control Surfaces on Multiscale Hierarchical Polymeric Structures

In this paper, we propose a novel method for controlling the anisotropic sliding behavior of droplets using multiscale hierarchical structures. First, we employed a silicon wafer mold containing micro-pillars and directional micro-line structures to induce the directional sliding of droplets. Additionally, we fabricated micro-cone patterns and integrated them into the structures to precisely control droplet movement. These two structures were replicated in polymer and subsequently fused into a single multiscale hierarchical mold through a partial curing process. The completed multiscale hierarchical surface was then replicated with PDMS to create anisotropy that governs the direction of droplet movement. We experimentally confirmed that the degree of sliding is influenced by the cone pattern. Our proposed structural design demonstrates that anisotropic wettability control is achievable even on surfaces made from a single material, indicating potential applications in various fields such as microfluidics, sensors, and functional surfaces.