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Off-critical wetting layer divergence at the liquid/vapor interface of binary liquid mixtures
J Charles Williamson1, Emily E Weatherford1, Makayla M DenBeste1
1Department of Chemistry, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|September 1, 2022
Summary
Researchers observed universal behavior in wetting layer growth for specific partially miscible liquid systems. Layer thickness diverged with decreasing temperature, but only for solutions richer in the higher density/surface tension component.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Surface Science
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Surface wetting phenomena are crucial across various scientific and engineering disciplines.
- Partially miscible binary liquid systems exhibit particularly complex wetting behaviors.
- Understanding adsorption layer growth is vital for theoretical models and practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate universal behaviors in wetting layer growth at liquid-vapor interfaces.
- To explore the divergence of wetting layer thickness in specific partially miscible binary liquid systems.
- To correlate observed wetting behaviors with the Hamaker constant and system properties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized visible light scattering to monitor micron-scale wetting layer growth in stirred liquid samples.
- Investigated three binary liquid systems: cyclohexane + aniline, hexane + o-toluidine, and methanol + carbon disulfide.
- Analyzed layer thickness divergence as a function of temperature and composition.
Main Results:
- Identified universal divergent wetting properties in the studied systems after normalization.
- Observed layer thickness divergence only in solutions richer in the higher density/surface tension component.
- Found no divergent wetting in benzene + 1,2-propanediol or water + phenol systems, correlating with the Hamaker constant's sign.
Conclusions:
- The sign of the Hamaker constant appears to correlate with contrasting wetting behaviors in binary liquid systems.
- Results have implications for theoretical adsorption layer growth models and complete wetting temperature measurements.
- Demonstrated universal behavior in wetting layer divergence, offering insights into liquid-vapor interface phenomena.
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