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  • Open Access

Friction Measurements with Picoliter Droplets Using Scanning Probe Microscopy

Diego Cortés, Michael Kappl, and Hans-Jürgen Butt*

Pranav Sudersan

Tomas P. Corrales

  • *Contact author: butt@mpip-mainz.mpg.de
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 048203 – Published 23 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/s6ln-s593

Abstract

Topographical and chemical defects on solid surfaces tend to pin three-phase contact lines of moving liquid drops. Our quantitative understanding of the pinning process is, however, still poor. Here we use an atomic force microscope to slide ≈100  pL droplets of water-glycerol mixtures over hydrophobic surfaces and measure friction forces. By using picoliter droplets, the sensitivity for detecting processes at the contact line is enhanced. We have found that only a region <200  nm around the contact line contributes to friction. By imaging isolated nanospherical defects, we could quantify the force and energy dissipation when the front and rear of the droplet passes the defect and compare it to theory.

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Corrections

28 October, 2025

Correction: The contact author information was missing and has now been inserted.

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Supplemental Material

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 048203– Published 23 July, 2025
  • Received 3 September 2024
  • Revised 23 May 2025
  • Accepted 23 June 2025
  • Corrected 28 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.

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