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Durotaxis motion is a spectacular phenomenon manifesting itself by theautonomous motion of a nano-object between parts of a substrate with differentstiffness. This motion usually takes place along a stiffness gradient fromsofter to stiffer parts of the substrate. Here, we propose a new design of apolymer brush substrate that demonstrates antidurotaxis droplet motion, thatis, droplet motion from stiffer to softer parts of the substrate. By carryingout extensive molecular dynamics simulation of a coarse-grained model, we findthat antidurotaxis is solely controlled by the gradient in the grafting densityof the brush and is favorable for fluids with a strong attraction to thesubstrate (low surface energy). The driving force of the antidurotaxial motionis the minimization of the droplet-substrate interfacial energy, which isattributed to the penetration of the droplet into the brush. Thus, weanticipate that the proposed substrate design offers a new understanding andpossibilities in the area of autonomous motion of droplets for applications inmicrofluidics, energy conservation, and biology.

Antidurotaxis Droplet Motion onto Gradient Brush Substrates