Molecular Simulation Study on the Wettability of a Surface Texturized with Hierarchical Pillars

By using molecular dynamics simulation, we investigate the wettability of a surface texturized with a periodic array of hierarchical pillars. By varying the height and spacing of the minor pillars on top of major pillars, we investigate the wetting transition from the Cassie–Baxter (CB) to Wenzel (WZ) states. We uncover the molecular structures and free energies of the transition and meta-stable states existing between the CB and WZ states. The relatively tall and dense minor pillars greatly enhance the hydrophobicity of a pillared surface, in that, the CB-to-WZ transition requires an increased activation energy and the contact angle of a water droplet on such a surface is significantly larger.