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The current fundamental understanding of droplet manipulation predominantly relies on wetting mechanisms, which are susceptible to undesired interfacial effects as dictated by increased solid-liquid contacts. In contrast, dewetting, characterized by reduced solid-liquid contacts, presents a promising alternative. However, traditional studies of dewetting are largely limited to thin-film instability and dynamics by exploiting liquid surface energy. Less is known about the crucial role of dewetting in mediating droplet dynamics, particularly through the exploitation of the latent heat and kinetic energy inherent within liquids. This perspective addresses current gaps in translating thin-film dewetting into droplet dewetting, explores the realization of droplet dewetting by harnessing various energy forms, discusses potential future applications of droplet dewetting, and highlights new directions for the implementation of dewetting in droplet engineering.
Sun et al. (Wed,) studied this question.