How Spontaneous Electrowetting and Surface Charge Affect Drop Motion

Water drops sliding on hydrophobic surfaces spontaneously separate charges at their rear. It is unclear how this charge separation affects the contact angles of a sliding drop. We slide grounded and insulated drops on hydrophobic surfaces at low capillary numbers (≤10^{-4}). We find that the drop charge leads to spontaneous electrowetting that decreases the contact angles. The deposited charges lead to a surface charge effect and decrease the contact angle. Both phenomena compensate each other at the receding contact line, resulting in an insignificant change in the receding contact angle of a sliding drop.