Wettability of liquid metal gallium is of vital significance in the field of modern industries, such as direct writing printing and microfluidics. A liquid interface is a recently developed and promising approach to regulate wettability but has not been well applied in liquid metals yet. This study focuses on the wetting performance of gallium droplets on organic liquid films. The results show that the organic liquid film could change the wetting state of the gallium droplet. Based on the solid substrate roughness and surface tension of the organic liquid, we could estimate whether the gallium droplet is in a slippery Wenzel or a Cassie state. Subsequently, we apply the thermodynamic stable model on different organic liquid films by spreading parameters to predict a priori whether an arbitrary combination of solid roughness and organic liquid is suitable for designing lubricant-infused surfaces (LIS) used in gallium droplets. More interestingly, we found that the “cloaking” could delay surface oxide formation, which will benefit the manipulation of liquid metal droplets. This paper would provide a better understanding of wettability of liquid metal on an organic liquid surface.

中文翻译：

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液态金属在有机液体表面的润湿转变建模

液态金属镓的润湿性在直写印刷和微流体等现代工业领域具有重要意义。液体界面是最近开发的一种调节润湿性的有前途的方法，但尚未很好地应用于液态金属。本研究侧重于镓液滴对有机液膜的润湿性能。结果表明，有机液膜可以改变镓液滴的润湿状态。根据固体基质的粗糙度和有机液体的表面张力，我们可以估计镓液滴是处于光滑的温泽尔状态还是卡西状态。随后，我们通过传播参数将热力学稳定模型应用于不同的有机液膜，以先验地预测固体粗糙度和有机液体的任意组合是否适合设计用于镓液滴的润滑剂注入表面 (LIS)。更有趣的是，我们发现“隐形”可以延迟表面氧化物的形成，这将有利于液态金属液滴的操纵。本文将更好地理解液态金属在有机液体表面的润湿性。