title: Molecular Dynamics Study of Thermally Augmented Nanodroplet Motion on Chemical Energy Induced Wettability Gradient Surfaces.
abstract: Droplet motion on a surface with chemical energy induced wettability gradient has been simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to highlight the underlying physics of molecular movement near the solid-liquid interface including the contact line friction. The simulations mimic experiments in a comprehensive manner wherein microsized droplets are propelled by the surface wettability gradient against forces opposed to motion. The liquid-wall Lennard-Jones interaction parameter and the substrate temperature are varied to explore their effects on the three-phase contact line friction coefficient. The contact line friction is observed to be a strong function of temperature at atomistic scales, confirming their experimentally observed inverse functionality. Additionally, the MD simulation results are successfully compared with those from an analytical model for self-propelled droplet motion on gradient surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur , Kharagpur 721302, India.
authors.forename: Monojit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur , Kharagpur 721302, India.
authors.forename: Anamika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur , Kharagpur 721302, India.
authors.forename: Richa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhusan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur , Kharagpur 721302, India.
authors.forename: Sunando
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: DasGupta