Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface
Abstract The propagation of interfacial waves in free and constrained conditions, such as deep and shallow water, has been broadly studied over centuries. It is a common event that anyone can witness, while contemplating the ocean waves washing ashore. As a complementary configuration, this work int...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55907-w |
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| author | Maxime Fauconnier Bhuvaneshwari Karunakaran Alex Drago-González William S. Y. Wong Robin H. A. Ras Heikki J. Nieminen |
| author_facet | Maxime Fauconnier Bhuvaneshwari Karunakaran Alex Drago-González William S. Y. Wong Robin H. A. Ras Heikki J. Nieminen |
| author_sort | Maxime Fauconnier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The propagation of interfacial waves in free and constrained conditions, such as deep and shallow water, has been broadly studied over centuries. It is a common event that anyone can witness, while contemplating the ocean waves washing ashore. As a complementary configuration, this work introduces waves propagating on an interface restricted by its pinning to the solid microstructures of an underwater superhydrophobic surface. The latter has the ability to stabilize a well-defined microscale gas layer, called a plastron, trapped between the water and the solid phase. The acoustic radiation force produced with focused MHz ultrasound successfully triggers kHz “plastronic waves”, i.e., capillary waves travelling on a plastron’s gas-water interface. The exposed waves possess interesting features, i.e., (i) a high propagation speed up to 45 times faster than conventional deep water capillary waves of comparable wavelength and (ii) a relation of the propagation speed with the geometry of the microstructures. Based on this and on the observed variation of wave speed over time in conditions of gas-undersaturated or -supersaturated water, the usefulness of the plastronic waves for the non-destructive monitoring of the plastron’s stability and the spontaneous air diffusion is eventually demonstrated. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b730e7f4f28b4db0bde5625992e67921 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-b730e7f4f28b4db0bde5625992e679212025-08-20T03:00:58ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-011611810.1038/s41467-025-55907-wFast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surfaceMaxime Fauconnier0Bhuvaneshwari Karunakaran1Alex Drago-González2William S. Y. Wong3Robin H. A. Ras4Heikki J. Nieminen5Medical Ultrasonics Laboratory (MEDUSA), Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto UniversityDepartment of Applied Physics, Aalto UniversityMedical Ultrasonics Laboratory (MEDUSA), Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto UniversityDepartment of Applied Physics, Aalto UniversityDepartment of Applied Physics, Aalto UniversityMedical Ultrasonics Laboratory (MEDUSA), Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto UniversityAbstract The propagation of interfacial waves in free and constrained conditions, such as deep and shallow water, has been broadly studied over centuries. It is a common event that anyone can witness, while contemplating the ocean waves washing ashore. As a complementary configuration, this work introduces waves propagating on an interface restricted by its pinning to the solid microstructures of an underwater superhydrophobic surface. The latter has the ability to stabilize a well-defined microscale gas layer, called a plastron, trapped between the water and the solid phase. The acoustic radiation force produced with focused MHz ultrasound successfully triggers kHz “plastronic waves”, i.e., capillary waves travelling on a plastron’s gas-water interface. The exposed waves possess interesting features, i.e., (i) a high propagation speed up to 45 times faster than conventional deep water capillary waves of comparable wavelength and (ii) a relation of the propagation speed with the geometry of the microstructures. Based on this and on the observed variation of wave speed over time in conditions of gas-undersaturated or -supersaturated water, the usefulness of the plastronic waves for the non-destructive monitoring of the plastron’s stability and the spontaneous air diffusion is eventually demonstrated.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55907-w |
| spellingShingle | Maxime Fauconnier Bhuvaneshwari Karunakaran Alex Drago-González William S. Y. Wong Robin H. A. Ras Heikki J. Nieminen Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface Nature Communications |
| title | Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| title_full | Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| title_fullStr | Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| title_short | Fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| title_sort | fast capillary waves on an underwater superhydrophobic surface |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55907-w |
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