Evaporative properties and pinning strength of laser-ablated, hydrophilic sites on lotus-leaf-like, nanostructured surfaces

Wetting, evaporative, and pinning strength properties of hydrophilic sites on superhydrophobic, nanostructured surfaces were examined. Understanding these properties is important for surface characterization and designing features in self-cleaning, lotus-leaf-like surfaces. Laser-ablated, hydrophilic spots between 250 μm and 2 mm in diameter were prepared on silicon nanowire (NW) superhydrophobic surfaces. For larger circumference pinning sites, initial contact angle measurements resemble the contact angle of the surface within the pinning site: 65-69°. As the drop volume is increased, the contact angles approach the contact angle of the NW surface without pinning sites: 171 -176°. The behavior of water droplets on the pinning sites is governed by how much of the water droplet is being influenced by the superhydrophobic NW surfaces versus the hydrophilic areas. During the evaporation of sinapic acid solution, drops are pinned by the spots except for the smaller circumference sites. Pinning strengths of the hydrophilic sites are a linear function of the pinning spot circumference. Protein samples prepared and deposited on the pinning sites for analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization indicate an improvement in sensitivity from that of a standard plate analysis by a factor of 5.