Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 5: Wetting, Fluidics and Liquids at Interfaces and Surfaces I (joint session CPP/DY)

CPP 5.4: Talk

Monday, March 9, 2026, 10:30–10:45, ZEU/0260

Motion and interaction of Marangoni contracted droplets on micropatterned surfaces — •Ze Xu, Raphael Saiseau, and Stefan Karpitschka — Fachbereich Physik, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

Wetting of micropatterned surfaces is ubiquitous in nature and key to many technological applications like inkjet printing and semiconductor processing. Overcoming the intrinsic, chemistry- and topography-governed wetting behaviors often requires specific materials, leading to contradicting requirements between the processing strategy and the final product. Here, we demonstrate that droplet spreading and wicking on hydrophilic patterns can be controlled by the vapor of a lower-surface-tension liquid. Condensation of the vapor induces Marangoni forces that delay capillary wicking and contract liquid into a droplet on top of the imbibed film. Consequently, a Marangoni-contracted droplet coexists with a finite imbibition film for prolonged times. We demonstrate how these droplets interact with each other, both by their vapor cloud, and by the imbibed liquid film that surrounds them. Modulating the ambient vapor, also these interactions can be modulated, devising new strategies for coating, cleaning, and drying functional surfaces.

Keywords: wetting; evaporation; interaction; Marangoni flows; patterned surfaces