Programmable curvilinear self-propelling of droplets without preset channels

Abstract

Curvilinear self-propelling of droplets has attracted great interest in the past few decades due to their irreplaceable roles in many areas. Conventional understanding is that a droplet moves only along a preset channel formed by morphology or chemical components. Achieving programmable curvilinear droplet motion independent of a preset channel remains greatly challenging. Here, we report a programmable curvilinear self-propelling of droplets (circle, divergence, and convergence) based on the collaboration of the curvilinear wetting gradient and the Leidenfrost effect. This design achieves motion trajectory in a well-controlled manner as well as high velocity and long distance of droplet transport independent of the preset channel. Moreover, the motion behaviors of droplets could be predicted accurately by theoretic simulation. We envision that our unique design could manifest extensive practical applications in fluidic devices, liquid transport, and heat transfer systems.