Manipulating dynamic drops using a hybrid superhydrophobic/hydrophilic surface

•A hybrid superhydrophobic/hydrophilic surface is proposed and investigated.•This surface can alter the maximum spreading diameters and contact time of a drop.•The unbalanced surface tension enables the drop slide to the hydrophilic side.•This new approach can be used for the anti-icing and self-cleaning applications. A hybrid surface composed of superhydrophobic patterns on hydrophilic substrate was fabricated by selective painting. The impingement of a water drop on this surface was investigated using lattice Boltzmann simulation. When a drop impinged on the boundary line between the superhydrophobic and hydrophilic area, the drop would spread preferentially to the hydrophilic area while the spreading at the superhydrophobic area was highly impeded. The maximum spreading diameters as well as the spreading time, which are extremely important for the heat transfer on solid surfaces, were analyzed in detail. By adjusting the distance between the landing point and the boundary line of the superhydrophobic/hydrophilic area, the maximum spreading diameter and spreading time could be altered precisely. The impinging velocity has been found to be important on the manipulation of the dynamic droplet as well.