Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces

Abstract Lubricant‐infused surfaces (LIS) have been shown to reduce hydrodynamic drag to a greater extent than theoretically expected, making them attractive candidates for microfluidic applications. The presence of nano‐ and micro‐bubbles has been found to explain this property, but this observatio...

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Main Authors: Leo James, Christopher Vega‐Sánchez, Priya Mehta, Xuehua Zhang, Chiara Neto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-06-01
Series:Advanced Materials Interfaces
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500160
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author Leo James
Christopher Vega‐Sánchez
Priya Mehta
Xuehua Zhang
Chiara Neto
author_facet Leo James
Christopher Vega‐Sánchez
Priya Mehta
Xuehua Zhang
Chiara Neto
author_sort Leo James
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Lubricant‐infused surfaces (LIS) have been shown to reduce hydrodynamic drag to a greater extent than theoretically expected, making them attractive candidates for microfluidic applications. The presence of nano‐ and micro‐bubbles has been found to explain this property, but this observation is not widely acknowledged. This work investigated how the volume and distribution of lubricant in wrinkled Teflon LIS affects bubble durability. The lubricant is depleted from LIS by repeated immersion through an air–water interface, as well as by shearing, gravity drainage and spreading. The bubbles are imaged using confocal fluorescence microscopy at different levels of infused lubricant. The lubricant encasing the bubbles on LIS prevented bubbles from shrinking over several hours, compared to uninfused superhydrophobic Teflon wrinkles, in which bubbles more rapidly shrunk in height, typically within 30 min. The size of bubbles is independent of lubricant volume, likely due to lubricant redistribution underwater. These findings point toward the possibility of a short‐term stabilization of bubbles on structured surfaces for drag reduction applications through the use of lubricant.
format Article
id doaj-art-9b05dcebbc894df19250a891512d3dec
institution OA Journals
issn 2196-7350
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publisher Wiley-VCH
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series Advanced Materials Interfaces
spelling doaj-art-9b05dcebbc894df19250a891512d3dec2025-08-20T02:38:18ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Materials Interfaces2196-73502025-06-011212n/an/a10.1002/admi.202500160Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled SurfacesLeo James0Christopher Vega‐Sánchez1Priya Mehta2Xuehua Zhang3Chiara Neto4School of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute The University of Sydney Sydney NSW 2006 AustraliaSchool of Electromechanical Engineering Costa Rica Institute of Technology Campus Cartago 159‐7050 Costa RicaSchool of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute The University of Sydney Sydney NSW 2006 AustraliaDepartment of Chemical & Materials Engineering University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta T6G1H9 CanadaSchool of Chemistry and University of Sydney Nano Institute The University of Sydney Sydney NSW 2006 AustraliaAbstract Lubricant‐infused surfaces (LIS) have been shown to reduce hydrodynamic drag to a greater extent than theoretically expected, making them attractive candidates for microfluidic applications. The presence of nano‐ and micro‐bubbles has been found to explain this property, but this observation is not widely acknowledged. This work investigated how the volume and distribution of lubricant in wrinkled Teflon LIS affects bubble durability. The lubricant is depleted from LIS by repeated immersion through an air–water interface, as well as by shearing, gravity drainage and spreading. The bubbles are imaged using confocal fluorescence microscopy at different levels of infused lubricant. The lubricant encasing the bubbles on LIS prevented bubbles from shrinking over several hours, compared to uninfused superhydrophobic Teflon wrinkles, in which bubbles more rapidly shrunk in height, typically within 30 min. The size of bubbles is independent of lubricant volume, likely due to lubricant redistribution underwater. These findings point toward the possibility of a short‐term stabilization of bubbles on structured surfaces for drag reduction applications through the use of lubricant.https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500160gas nucleationlubricant‐infused surfaceslubricant depletionnanobubblessuperhydrophobicity
spellingShingle Leo James
Christopher Vega‐Sánchez
Priya Mehta
Xuehua Zhang
Chiara Neto
Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
Advanced Materials Interfaces
gas nucleation
lubricant‐infused surfaces
lubricant depletion
nanobubbles
superhydrophobicity
title Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
title_full Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
title_fullStr Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
title_short Experimental Study of Gas Microbubbles on Oil‐Infused Wrinkled Surfaces
title_sort experimental study of gas microbubbles on oil infused wrinkled surfaces
topic gas nucleation
lubricant‐infused surfaces
lubricant depletion
nanobubbles
superhydrophobicity
url https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500160
work_keys_str_mv AT leojames experimentalstudyofgasmicrobubblesonoilinfusedwrinkledsurfaces
AT christophervegasanchez experimentalstudyofgasmicrobubblesonoilinfusedwrinkledsurfaces
AT priyamehta experimentalstudyofgasmicrobubblesonoilinfusedwrinkledsurfaces
AT xuehuazhang experimentalstudyofgasmicrobubblesonoilinfusedwrinkledsurfaces
AT chiaraneto experimentalstudyofgasmicrobubblesonoilinfusedwrinkledsurfaces