Oxford Theoretical Physics

Condensed Matter Theory: Soft and Biological Matter

Julia Yeomans

Research:

• Current Research
• Recent Publications

Vacancies:

• Graduate Study
• Post-doctoral Positions

Group Members:

• Scott Edwards
• Nuno Silvestre
• Gareth Alexander
• Halim Kusumaatmaja
• Matthew Blow
• Richard Matthews
• Victor Putz
• Yiannis Zacharoudiou
• Anton Markesteijn

Collaborators:

• Anna Balazs
• Issam Ali
• Davide Marenduzzo
• Enzo Orlandini
• Olivier Pierre-Louis

Links:

• Oxford University
• Oxford Physics
• Theoretical Physics
• Condensed Matter Theory
• Theory of Soft and Biological Matter

Lecture Courses:

• 1st Year Calculus Lectures
• CP3: Revision Lectures

Back to current research interest

Drops on micropatterned surfaces

If a hydrophobic surface is patterned with micron scale posts it can become superhydrophobic. The surface is strongly water repellent, and drops slide off very easily. There are many examples where nature has exploited superhydrophobic designs, for example, on the surfaces of leave to aid the run-off of rainwater. We are using analytic and numerical approaches to understand the phase transitions and dynamics of drops on patterned surfaces with the aim of improving microchannel design.

A natural (above) and fabricated (below)superhydrophobic surface.	Computer simulation of a superhydrophobic surface	Water drops on a natural (above) and fabricated (below) superhydrophobic surface
	A different mechanism for hydrophobicity: Hairs on a hydrophilic surface.

Recent Publications:

1. The collapse transition on superhydrophobic surfaces, Europhys Lett. 81, 36003 (2007) [arxiv]

2. Modelling contact angle hysteresis on chemically patterned and superhydrophobic surfaces, Langmuir 23, 6019 (2007) [arxiv]

3. Modelling droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces: equilibrium states and transitions, Langmuir, 21, 2624 (2005) [arxiv]