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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Invariance of the solid-liquid interfacial energy in electrowetting probed via capillary condensation
Rohini Gupta1, Gloria K Olivier, Joelle Frechette
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
Abstract:
Capillary condensation is employed to probe the solid-liquid interfacial energy in electrowetting on dielectric. The height of an annular water meniscus formed via capillary condensation inside the surface force apparatus is measured as a function of the potential applied across the meniscus and the dielectric stack where the meniscus is formed. According to the Kelvin equation, a decrease in the solid-liquid interfacial energy at constant temperature and relative humidity should lead to an increase in the meniscus height. Our experimental results on nanometer-sized meniscus are in agreement with the work of Mugele [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 2007, 19, 375112] and unequivocally demonstrate that the real contact angle (or the solid-liquid interfacial energy) remains unaltered in electrowetting on dielectric.
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