Temperature-regulated directional bounce of impacting droplets on gradient grooves

Droplet impact dynamics on gradient textures at room temperature have been intensively studied in the past decade. The wetting gradient surfaces are reported to direct the droplet motion. In this work, we show an undirectional rebound behavior of impacting droplets on gradient grooved surfaces at high temperature. The impinging droplet rebounds towards the denser microstructure region at contact boiling state, but towards to the sparser region when at Leidenfrost film boiling state. Our analysis indicates that the non-directional rebounding direction is attributed to the unbalanced Young's forces or vapor pressure difference between the droplet and the substrate. In contact boiling regime, the droplet rebounds towards the denser region due to the unbalanced Young's force. However, in the Leidenfrost film boiling region, adequate vapor generated underneath the droplet impedes the direct contact and larger vapor pressure in the denser region causes the droplet to rebound oppositely. This study is envisioned to promote the understanding of droplet dynamics at high temperature and provide promising applications in various systems where regulating droplet motion is needed.