Superhydrophobic immersion

Abstract

Non-wetting solids have been extensively studied for about 20 years due to the spectacular mobility they provide to water drops. However, they have other noteworthy properties: For instance, such materials immersed in water entrain a plastron of air, a phenomenon exploited by many creatures to hunt or breathe underwater. We measure the thickness of this plastron and model the results by modifying the Landau-Levich-Derjaguin theory established for a plate drawn out of a wetting liquid.