Superspreading Wetting of Nanofluid Droplet Laden with Highly Dispersed Nanoparticles

Wetting of nanofluids containing highly dispersed nanoparticles of single-nanometer size was investigated, as these nanoparticles can persist within a nanometer-scale liquid film near contact line, potentially causing significant changes in wetting characteristics. We discerned distinctive superspreading wetting, featured by temporal indices (0.29 to 0.46) in the relationship between contact radius and time. We employed a phase-shifting imaging ellipsometer to measure droplet shape, including the nanometer-scale liquid film and nanoparticle layer after drying. The liquid film shapes differed from pure liquids at micrometer-scale but not at nanometer-scale. Furthermore, surface tension measurements and substrate surface energy control contributed to unraveling these characteristics. These findings differentiated the observed superspreading wetting from the mechanisms proposed in existing studies of aqueous surfactant solutions.