Variations of the Static Contact Angle of Ferrofluid Droplets on Solid Horizontal Surfaces in External Uniform Magnetic Fields

The application of external uniform magnetic fields to ferrofluid droplets affects their magnetic order at the nanoscale as well as their shape at the macroscale, thus changing their contact angle with the surface. In this work, the effects of external uniform magnetic fields on the contact angles between different oil-based ferrofluid droplets and a handful of horizontal surfaces of varying wettability were studied. The contact angle is no longer constant around the ferrofluid droplet; rather, it varies in a rich yet predictable way. Droplets dispensed in the presence of the magnetic field on oleophobic surfaces adjust such that the contact angle increases at the front and back ends and decreases at the two perpendicular positions. The opposite behavior is reported for ferrofluid droplets on oleophilic surfaces. These direction-dependent changes in the contact angle can have a significant impact on the behavior of ferrofluid droplets on gradient surfaces where they can either diminish or enhance the surface tension gradient. Our work is fundamentally relevant to potential applications involving the controlled movement of ferrofluid droplets on surfaces like the lab-on-a-chip under the combined effects of a magnetic field and either a surface tension gradient or an electric field (i.e., electrowetting). It is important to understand how the two effects interact for the optimal utilization of these effects in future applications.