Large Slip Length over a Nanopatterned Surface

Abstract

A thermodynamic method is employed to analyse the slip length of hydrophobic nanopatterned surface. The maximal slip lengths with respect to the hydrophobicity of the nanopatterned surface are computed. It is found that the slip length reaches more than 50 μm if the nanopatterned surfaces have a contact angle larger than 160°. Such results are expected to find extensive applications in micro-channels and helpful to understand recent experimental observations of the slippage of nanopatterned surfaces.