Interaction Forces between Water Droplets and Solid Surfaces across Air Films.

ABSTRACT: Wetting of solid surfaces occurs when the intervening air film between a water droplet and a solid surface ruptures. Although this rupturing phenomenon is well known, the underlying mechanism has not yet been well understood. In this work, the rupture of intervening air films is systematically studied by measuring the spatiotemporal thickness profiles of the air films between droplets of deionized water and flat solid surfaces using a synchronized triwavelength reflection interferometry microscope. It has been shown that the critical rupture thickness of the air film (h c) depends on the surface hydrophobicity of solid surfaces. The h c value was increased from 50 nm on a hydrophobic surface having an equilibrium water contact angle (θw) of 96° to 1.42 μm on a hydrophilic surface having a

SUBMITTER: Gao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6788057 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature