Wetting at nanoscale: Effect of surface forces and droplet size
Nikolai Kubochkin, Tatiana Gambaryan‐Roisman
Abstract
The dependence of contact angle on droplet size for droplets of height of the order of a few nanometers has been intensively debated for decades. The size effects are believed to be related to surface forces. In the present work, we use the disjoining pressure concept and solve the Derjaguin equation in order to show that values of the contact angle are dramatically dependent on the droplet height as well as the way the contact angle is defined. For the first time, we demonstrate that different contact angle definitions can even lead to opposite dependencies of the contact angle on the droplet height.
Topics & Concepts
Contact angleWettingDisjoining pressureNanoscopic scaleNanometreSolid surfaceMaterials scienceSurface (topology)Work (physics)Surface forceMechanicsWetting transitionNanotechnologyChemical physicsPhysicsComposite materialGeometryThermodynamicsMathematicsSurface Modification and SuperhydrophobicityFluid Dynamics and Thin FilmsNanomaterials and Printing Technologies