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Contact Angle

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When a solid is dipped inside a liquid, the liquid surface becomes curved near the contact. For some solid–liquid interfaces, the liquid is pulled up along the solid, while for others, the liquid surface is convex or depressed near the solid surface. This phenomenon can be explained using the concept of cohesive and adhesive forces.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Surface Properties of Synthesized Nanoporous Carbon and Silica Matrices

Surface Properties of Synthesized Nanoporous Carbon and Silica Matrices

Published on: March 27, 2019

Contact angle patterns on low-energy surfaces.

Robert David¹, A Wilhelm Neumann¹

¹Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Rd., room RM501, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3G8.

Advances in Colloid and Interface Science

|April 23, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Contact angles of organic liquids on low-energy solid surfaces follow predictable patterns. This is explained by molecular interactions and liquid density near the surface, with deviations due to chemical structure.

Keywords:

Zisman plot contact angle density depletion equation of state for interfacial tensions low-energy surface

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Area of Science:

Surface Science
Physical Chemistry
Materials Science

Background:

Contact angles of organic liquids on low-energy solids exhibit a consistent pattern.
Existing experimental data and semi-empirical equations describe this phenomenon.

Purpose of the Study:

To review experimental evidence and theoretical explanations for the contact angle pattern.
To present a simplified analytical approach for understanding this pattern.

Main Methods:

Review of experimental data on liquid-solid contact angles.
Analysis of theoretical and computational studies.
Development of a simplified analytical model.

Main Results:

The primary contact angle pattern is governed by a universal combining rule for molecular interactions.
Reduced liquid density adjacent to low-energy surfaces is a key factor.
Deviations from the pattern are attributable to specific molecular structure effects.

Conclusions:

A unified explanation for contact angle patterns on low-energy surfaces is provided.
The interplay between intermolecular forces and molecular packing dictates surface behavior.
Chemical specificity in molecular structure explains observed irregularities.