Evaporation of microdroplets of ethanol-water mixtures on gold surfaces modified with self-assembled monolayers

The wetting property and evaporation behavior of ethanol-water mixtures of various concentrations on gold surfaces modified with 1-decanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were studied by digital contact angle analysis. It has been shown that the initial contact angle decreases monotonically with increased concentration of ethanol in the mixture. Evaporation studies revealed a general trend with a preliminary increase in contact angle accompanied with a decrease in contact area, then a constant contact angle accompanied with a slower, linear decrease in contact area. At the very beginning of the evaporation process, the contact angles showed a rapid decrease for the microdroplets of a binary mixture with equal volume fractions (i.e., 50% ethanol). Three distinct stages of the evaporation profile for the ethanol-water mixtures were observed, which differ from the inclusive "pinning" and "shrinking" behavior observed for the pure liquid case. Ultimately, the study makes possible the use of an evaporation profile to monitor the change in concentration of a binary system and allows a better understanding of the interactions between liquid microdroplets with solid substrates.