20.500.12556/RUL-183557 Water droplet attraction and coalescence on liquid-crystal-infused textured and porous surfaces Coalescence of droplets on liquid-infused surfaces has been extensively investigated for isotropic lubricants, where interfacial and hydrodynamic responses are well described by geometry-based and mass-spring models. However, the corresponding dynamics on anisotropic lubricating films, such as liquid crystals (LCs), remain largely unexplored. In this work, we report the use of high-speed imaging to study the attraction and coalescence of millimetre-sized water droplets on two classes of substrates, covered with a thin LC overlayer: LC-infused textured surfaces (LCITS) and LC-infused porous surfaces (LCIPS). On both substrates, the droplets coalesce through three stages over approximately one minute: long-range capillary-mediated attraction, drainage of the lubricant within the wetting ridge, and final merging accompanied by in-plane oscillations of the formed droplet. On LCITS, the initial approach velocities and post-merging dynamics are broadly consistent with the geometry-based mass–spring model developed for oil-impregnated surfaces of a similar type. However, on LCIPS, where a thicker lubricating film produces a larger wetting ridge, we observe substantially reduced attraction and merging velocities, no oscillations were resolved within our temporal resolution at the f irst velocity peak, and drainage times strongly influenced by evaporation. In the final stage, the peak velocity mainly depends on the LC mesophase and is nearly independent of droplet size, while the oscillation period scales approximately with the square root of the droplet radius. These results clarify how the porous LC scaffold and enlarged wetting ridge alter droplet-droplet interactions and coalescence dynamics relative to textured silicone substrates. droplet coalescence capillary forces anisotropic lubricating films koalescenca kapljic kapilarne sile anizotropni mazalni filmi true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-06-15 09:33:53 2026-06-15 09:34:00 2026-06-16 04:04:27 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 2545-2557 iss. 13 Vol. 22 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 532.783 1744-6848 10.1039/D5SM01184A 270070787 RAZ_Fers_Filip_2026.pdf RAZ_Fers_Filip_2026.pdf 1 09E82E50098AC4D930109ED0274CCD31 53afa03039d732c19b9a5d70ceab6ba94a4cd89dfda4079a5b8f36f7c5b391ee 75d64303-688d-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=235620 https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SM01184A 1 895a3561-688c-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=235619 Medicinska fakulteta 0 0 0