Technique for needle-free drop deposition: Pathway for precise characterization of superhydrophobic surfaces

The most important step for characterizing the wettability of a surface is to deposit a water drop on the surface and measure the contact angle made by the drop on the surface. This innocuously simple process relies on bringing a needle holding the water drop in close proximity to the surface, with a ``desire'' that the drop would spontaneously detach from the needle and get deposited on the surface. Problem occurs when the surface is superhydrophobic, expressing an ``unwillingness'' to ``see'' the water drop in preference to a much more ``water-loving'' needle surface. There exists no solution to this problem, and surfaces are invariably characterized where the drop-needle assembly contacts the superhydrophobic surface. Such a configuration will always lead to an incorrect estimation of the contact angle, as there is no certainty of the existence of the drop-surface contact. Here we shall discuss our recently invented technique, where we solve this long-standing problem--we indeed ensure a needle-free drop in contact with the superhydrophobic surface, thereby ascertaining precise determination of the contact angle. The successful application of the technique will address a major headache of the big research community interested in science and technology of superhydrophobic surfaces.