Ohjelmoitava vettyminen

Our main goal is to speed up surface wetting state changes by at least one order of magnitude, and bring it down to seconds, which will open up whole new applications potential. We also propose to induce wetting change with high spatial resolution. Programmability means that the wetting transitions are fully reversible. Such a combination of properties do not exist today, but we expect that our approach of combining micro and nanostructuring to existing materials, and by introducing new materials and actuation principles, will lead to breakthroughs in wetting transitions.

Objectives of the project are:
1) Programming of a surface for rapid and reversible switching by change of surface energy.
2) Programming of a surface for rapid and reversible switching by change of surface topography.
3) Directional droplet transport and channel flow.
4) Understanding of fluid flow over topography.
5) Design and fabrication of novel microfluidic devices.