Emergent collective motion of self-propelled condensate droplets

Abstract: Recently, there is much interest in droplet condensation on soft or liquid/liquid-like substrates. Droplets can deform soft and liquid interfaces resulting in a wealth of phenomena not observed on hard, solid surfaces (e.g., increased nucleation, inter-droplet attraction). Here, we describe a unique complex collective motion of condensate water droplets that emerges spontaneously when a solid substrate is covered with a thin oil film. Droplets move first in a serpentine, self-avoiding fashion before transitioning to circular motions. We show that this self-propulsion (with speeds in the 0.1-1 mm/s range) is fuelled by the interfacial energy release upon merging with newly condensed but much smaller droplets. The resultant collective motion spans multiple length scales from submillimetre to several centimetres, with potentially important heat-transfer and water-harvesting applications.