Probing surface tension additivity on chemically heterogeneous surfaces by a molecular approach.

ABSTRACT: Surface free energy of a chemically heterogeneous surface is often treated as an approximately additive quantity through the Cassie equation [Cassie ABD (1948) Discuss Faraday Soc 3:11-16]. However, deviations from additivity are common, and molecular interpretations are still lacking. We use molecular simulations to measure the microscopic analogue of contact angle, Θ(c), of aqueous nanodrops on heterogeneous synthetic and natural surfaces as a function of surface composition. The synthetic surfaces are layers of graphene functionalized with prototypical nonpolar and polar head group: methyl, amino, and nitrile. We demonstrate positive as well as negative deviations from the linear additivity. We show the deviations reflect the uneven exposure of mixture components to the solvent and the

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3081020 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature