How Slippery are SLIPS? Measuring Effective Slip on Lubricated Surfaces with Colloidal Probe Atmoc Force Microscopy

Abstract

Lubricant-infused surfaces have attracted great attention recently and are described as slippery (SLIPS). Here we measured hydrodynamic drainage forces on SLIPS by colloid probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) and quantified the effective slip length over a nano-thin silicone oil layer on hydrophobized (OTS-coated) silicon wafers. The thickness of a stable silicone oil film on OTS-Si under sucrose solution was determined to be 1.8 ± 1.3 nm, and found to induce an average effective slip length of 29 ± 3 nm, very close to that of an uninfused OTS substrate. These relatively low values of effective slip are confirmed by the relatively large macroscopic roll-off angle values of water droplets on the same substrates. Both the nano- and macro-scale results reflect the immobilized nature of a silicone oil layer of thickness around 2 nm within an underlying monolayer. These results have important implications for the design of drag-reducing coatings using lubricant infusion.