Experimental Investigation of Wetting with Magnetic Fluids.

Here we report the experimental results of the general wetting behavior of an oil-based ferrofluid and a water-based magnetic paint droplet on a hydrophobic surface under the effect of an external magnetic field. By increasing the magnetic field in the vertical direction, the height of the oil-based ferrofluid droplet increases while the width decreases; on the contrary, under the same circumstances, the height of the water-based magnetic paint droplet decreases whereas the width increases. The wetting behavior of the oil-based ferrofluid and the water-based magnetic paint droplets is evaluated as a function of the contact angle, contact line diameter, and hysteresis curve alterations. Conclusively, a general explanation is given for the contrary behavior of both liquids, and some application processes for future implementations are introduced.