Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Surface wettability describes the behavior of liquids on substrates and their ability \nto remain in contact with them. Quantification of wettability is often reduced to a \nmeasurement of the contact angle that a liquid droplet makes on the surface. Although \nthis practice has become ubiquitous in the literature, a growing number of researchers \nhave voiced concerns that static contact angles alone cannot fully describe surface \nwetting properties. Our research findings fall in line with this sentiment and highlight \nsome of the difficulties encountered when quantifying dynamic wetting behavior. The \nwetting dynamics of more than 300 droplets were studied on randomly roughened \nsurfaces to demonstrate the range over which advancing and receding contact angles \ncan vary. Factors such as droplet size, rate of volume change, and shape fitting \nalgorithms affected measured contact angles. The relation between static and dynamic \ncontact angle data was compared based on empirical models developed by others \n[Furmidge J. Colloid Sci., 1962, 17(4), 309; Xiu et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2008, \n112(30), 11403]. The results of these comparisons demonstrate that static contact \nangles alone are not enough to characterize irregularly roughened surfaces, and that \nmore information related to dynamic wetting behavior, such as sliding angles and \nhysteresis, is essential.
Author: Justin Elms
Language: English
Subfield: Surfaces, Coatings and Films
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2923514669