The Thermodynamics of Restoring Underwater Superhydrophobicity

Superhydrophobic
surfaces submerged in liquids are susceptible
to permanently becoming wet. This is especially true when the ambient
liquid is pressurized or undersaturated with air. To gain insight
into the thermodynamics of restoring underwater superhydrophobicity,
nucleation theory is applied to the design of spontaneously dewetting
conical pores. It is found that, for intrinsically hydrophobic materials,
there is a geometric constraint for which reversible superhydrophobic
behavior may occur. Molecular dynamics simulations are implemented
to support the theory, and steered molecular dynamics simulations
are used to investigate the energy landscape of the dewetting process.
The results of this work have implications for the efficacy of underwater
superhydrophobicity and enhanced nucleation sites for boiling heat
transfer.