Physics Commons^™

Electrowetting Actuation Of Polydisperse Nanofluid Droplets, Crismar Patacsil, Jan Patrick Calupitan, Erwin Enriquez, Raphael A. Guerrero

Physics Faculty Publications

We present results of electrowetting experiments employing droplets formed from aqueous suspensions of Au nanoparticles. A planar electrowetting system, consisting of a Pt wire electrode and a bottom Cu electrode with an insulating silicone layer, is used to observe changes in droplet contact angle when an external electric field is applied. The equilibrium contact angle at 0 V decreases with increasing nanoparticle concentration, dropping from 100.4° for pure deionized water to 94.7° for a 0.5 μM nanofluid. Increasing the nanoparticle content also lowers the required voltage for effective actuation. With actuation at 15 V, contact angle decreases by 9% …