Elastic wetting: Substrate-supported droplets confined by soft elastic membranes

While classical wetting is well captured by the famous Young's equation and bulge blister models are readily available, there limited understanding of a micro- or nano-scale droplet being covered an ultrasoft elastic membrane. We call this phenomenon to feature interplay between liquid's surface tension membrane's deformation. Examples include cell blebs 2D material bubbles, where membrane thickness ranges from microns sub-nanometers. In work, we study equilibrium solve for profiles pressure-volume relations membrane-confined droplets. show that in wetting, pressure across membrane/droplet interface can be described simple superposition Young-Laplace nonlinear equation. Furthermore, elasticity, geometric nonlinearity, tension, together with membrane-substrate adhesion, interweave at contact line, leading rich configurations. Finally, examine effect substrate compliance on find rigid assumption approximates most existing experiments literature. Our results provide fundamental mechanistic insights into various phenomena as viable means extract physical parameters including bubble energies.