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Surface roughness is an important factor that affects dynamic wetting behavior, which can improve the surface hydrophobicity, so it is of great significance to obtain a better understanding of roughness effect from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In this paper, we studied the influence of macro-size surface roughness on contact angle hysteresis and spreading work and analyzed the relationship between contact angle hysteresis and spreading work. Results showed that as the surface roughness increased, both the advancing contact angle and the receding contact angle continued to increase until their maximum values were reached, and then started to decrease within the range of surface roughness studied, while the contact angle hysteresis presented the opposite trend. In addition, with the increase of surface roughness the spreading work initially increased to a certain maximum value, then continuously decreased to the minimum value, and then began to increase within the range of the surface roughness studied. These trends could be attributed to the surface wetting state (Wenzel state, Cassie state, and transition state) changing with the change of surface roughness. These findings can provide guidance for the preparation of wetted surfaces with specific functions, especially when it is required to change the wettability without changing the surface chemical properties.

Contact angle hysteresis is an important physical phenomenon. It is omnipresent in nature and also plays a crucial role in various industrial processes. Despite its relevance, there is a lack of consensus on how to incorporate a description of contact angle hysteresis into physical models. To clarify this, starting from the basic definition of contact angle hysteresis, we introduce the formalism and models for implementing contact angle hysteresis into relevant physical phenomena. Furthermore, we explain the influence of the contact angle hysteresis in physical phenomena relevant for industrial applications such as sliding drops, coffee stain phenomenon (in general evaporative self-assembly), and curtain and wire coating techniques.

The pore-level two-phase fluids flow mechanism needs to be understood for geological CO2 sequestration as a solution to mitigate anthropogenic emission of carbon dioxide. Capillary pressure at the interface of water–CO2 influences CO2 injectability, capacity, and safety of the storage system. Wettability usually measured by contact angle is always a major uncertainty source among important parameters affecting capillary pressure. The contact angle is mostly determined on a flat surface as a representative of the rock surface. However, a simple and precise method for determining in situ contact angle at pore-scale is needed to simulate fluids flow in porous media. Recent progresses in X-ray tomography technique has provided a robust way to measure in situ contact angle of rocks. However, slow imaging and complicated image processing make it impossible to measure dynamic contact angle. In the present paper, a series of static and dynamic contact angles as well as contact angles on flat surface were measured inside a micromodel with random pattern of channels under high pressure condition. Our results showed a wide range of pore-scale contact angles, implying complexity of the pore-scale contact angle even in a highly smooth and chemically homogenous glass micromodel. Receding contact angle (RCA) showed more reproducibility compared to advancing contact angle (ACA) and static contact angle (SCA) for repeating tests and during both drainage and imbibition. With decreasing pore size, RCA was increased. The hysteresis of the dynamic contact angle (ACA–RCA) was higher at pressure of one megapascal in comparison with that at eight megapascals. The CO2 bubble had higher mobility at higher depths due to lower hysteresis which is unfavorable. CO2 bubbles resting on the flat surface of the micromodel channel showed a wide range of contact angles. They were much higher than reported contact angle values observed with sessile drop or captive bubble tests on a flat plate of glass in previous reports. This implies that more precaution is required when estimating capillary pressure and leakage risk.

The wetting of solid surfaces is treated. The Young and receding contact angles are experimentally unattainable values for the majority of solid surfaces. Actually, we always observe the apparent contact angle. This makes the characterization of wetting of real surfaces problematic. It is proposed in this paper to characterize wetting of real surfaces with the advancing contact angle and the minimum work of adhesion calculated according to the Dupre equation. The advancing contact angle, which depends slightly on the experimental technique used for its measurement, corresponds to the maximal solid/liquid surface tension and correspondingly to the minimal work of adhesion, calculated according to the Dupre equation.

Organic‐lean and organic‐rich size‐selected soot particles were exposed to a varying O3 concentration, progressively decreasing the soot‐water contact angle (θ) to study its impact on ice nucleation (IN). The IN ability of fresh and O3‐aged soot between 218 and 233 K was observed while monitoring the particle mass and size distributions. The properties of fresh and O3‐aged bulk organic‐lean soot samples with a low and high O3‐adsorption were characterized for soot‐water θ, chemical composition, functional groups, soot‐water interaction ability and porosity. By retaining the soot porosity between aged and unaged samples, we demonstrate that a decrease in θ after O3‐aging enhances organic‐lean soot IN via pore condensation and freezing. Fresh organic‐rich soot exhibits suppressed homogeneous freezing, but after O3‐aging it freezes within uncertainty of the homogeneous freezing threshold of solution drops, because of increased hydrophilicity. Plain Language Summary This study investigates the ice formation ability of soot exposed to O3 in the temperature range <−40°C relevant to the cirrus cloud regime for the role of surface wettability in the ice formation ability of organic‐lean and ‐rich soot. O3‐aged organic‐lean soot is more effective at forming ice crystals than unaged soot, due to an increase in soot‐water interaction ability promoting capillary condensation of water into porous structures that subsequently freeze. As the chemical functional group abundance of the organic‐lean soot does not change after O3‐exposure, the increased soot‐water interaction ability for the soot is attributed to O3‐H2O binding rather than surface oxidation. However, both water sorption isotherms and pore size distribution derived from N2 sorption measurements confirm the O3‐adsorption does not change the porosity of organic‐lean soot. This highlights the sole importance of hydrophilicity in pore water condensation prior to soot ice nucleation. O3‐aged organic‐rich soot shows poor ice formation ability because of unavailability of porous structures to condense capillary water. This study implies that organic‐lean soot will have an enhanced ice formation ability in the upper troposphere if exposed to O3 concentrations similar to that simulated in this study. Key Points Higher O3‐concentration leads to a larger decease in water contact angle for organic‐lean soot without changing the soot porosity The decrease in soot‐water contact angle from O3‐aging produces an ice nucleation enhancement for organic‐lean soot via PCF at T < 233 K O3‐aged organic‐rich soot freezes homogeneously at bulk droplet conditions despite increased hydrophilicity due to unavailable pores

Food packaging materials are crucial to maintaining food quality, as they play an important role in preventing food deterioration, dehydration, and oxidation. Unlike synthetic polymers, natural biopolymers, such as polysaccharides and proteins, are abundant and widespread resources that are nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. In food packaging, contact between packaging materials and moist foods can frequently degrade the performance of the materials. This has increased research into the development of hydrophobic biopolymer-based films. Here, we summarize the effective preparation strategies, mechanical and barrier properties, pH responsiveness, self-cleaning performance, and antibacterial and antioxidant functions of hydrophobic biopolymer-based films. The most effective methods for preparing hydrophobic biopolymer-based films are electrospinning with hydrophobically modified biopolymers, adding micro/nanofillers and hydrophobic compounds to the films, and hydrophobically modifying the films. These methods can even generate superhydrophobic films with excellent barrier properties. We also discuss the current opportunities and challenges presented by hydrophobic biopolymer-based films.

Gelatin, one of the most abundant, naturally derived biomacromolecules from collagen, is widely applicable in food additives, cosmetic ingredients, drug formulation, and wound dressing based on their non-toxicity and biodegradability. In parallel, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a synthetic polymer, has been commonly applied as a thickening agent for coating processes in aqueous systems and a major component in healthcare products for cartilage replacements, eye lubrication, and contact lenses. In this study, a new type of mixed hydrogel nanofiber was fabricated from gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol by electrospinning under a feasible range of polymer compositions. To determine the optimal composition of gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol in nanofiber fabrication, several key physicochemical properties of mixed polymer solutions such as viscosity, surface tension, pH, and electrical conductance were thoroughly characterized by a viscometer, surface tensiometer, water analyzer, and carbon electron probe. Moreover, the molecular structures of polymeric chains within mixed hydrogel nanofibers were investigated with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphologies and surface elemental compositions of the mixed hydrogel nanofibers were examined by the scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The measurement of water contact angles was performed for measuring the hydrophilicity of nanofiber surfaces. Most importantly, the potential cytotoxicity of the electrospun nanofibers was evaluated by the in vitro culture of 3T3 fibroblasts. Through our extensive study, it was found that a PVA-rich solution (a volumetric ratio of gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol <1) would be superior for the efficient production of mixed hydrogel nanofibers by electrospinning techniques. This result is due to the appropriate balance between the higher viscosity (~420–~4300 10−2 poise) and slightly lower surface tension (~35.12–~32.68 mN/m2) of the mixed polymer solution. The regression on the viscosity data also found a good fit by the Lederer–Rougier’s model for a binary mixture. For the hydrophilicity of nanofibers, the numerical analysis estimates that the value of interfacial energy for the water contact on nanofibers is around ~−0.028 to ~−0.059 J/m2.

Several plant species such as grasses are dominant in many habitats including arid and semi-arid areas. These species survive in these regions by developing exclusive structures, which helps in the collection of atmospheric water. Before the collected water evaporates, these structures have unique canopy structure for water transportation that plays an equivalent share in the fog-harvesting mechanism. In this review, the atmospheric gaseous water harvesting mechanisms and their affinity of measurements were discussed. Morphological adaptations and their role in the capturing of atmospheric gaseous water of various species were also discussed. The key factor for the water collection and its conduction in the wheat plant is the information of contact angle hysteresis. In wheat, leaf rolling and its association with wetting property help the plant in water retention. Morphological adaptations, i.e., leaf erectness, grooves, and prickle hairs, also help in the collection and acquisition of water droplets by stem flows in directional guide toward the base of the plant and allow its rapid uptake. Morphological adaptation strengthens the harvesting mechanism by preventing the loss of water through shattering. Thus, wheat canopy architecture can be modified to harvest the atmospheric water and directional movement of water towards the root zone for self-irrigation. Moreover, these morphological adaptations are also linked with drought avoidance and corresponding physiological processes to resist water stress. The combination of these traits together with water use efficiency in wheat contributes to a highly efficient atmospheric water harvesting system that enables the wheat plants to reduce the cost of production. It also increases the yielding potential of the crop in arid and semi-arid environments. Further investigating the ecophysiology and molecular pathways of these morphological adaptations in wheat may have significant applications in varying climatic scenarios.

The key goal of this study was to characterize surface properties of chosen dental materials on the base on the contact angle measurements and surface free energy calculations. Tested materials were incubated in the simulated oral environment and drinks to estimate an influence of conditions similar to those in the oral cavity on wetting and energetic state of the surface. Types of materials were as follows: denture acrylic resins, composite and PET-G dental retainer to compare basic materials used in a prosthetics, restorative dentistry and orthodontics. The sessile drop method was used to measure the contact angle with the use of several liquids. Values of the surface free energies were estimated based on the Owens–Wendt, van Oss–Chaudhury–Good and Zisman’s methods. The research showed that surface wetting depends on the material composition and storage conditions. The most significance changes of CA were observed for acrylic resins (84.7° ± 3.8° to 65.5° ± 3.5°) and composites (58.8° ± 4.1° to 49.1° ± 5.7°) stored in orange juice, and for retainers (81.9° ± 1.8° to 99.6° ± 4.5°) incubated in the saline solution. An analysis of the critical surface energy showed that acrylic materials are in the zone of good adhesion (values above 40 mJ/m2), while BIS-GMA composites are in the zone of poor adhesion (values below 30 mJ/m2). Study of the surface energy of different dental materials may contribute to the development of the thermodynamic model of bacterial adhesion, based on the surface free energies, and accelerate the investigation of biomaterial interaction in the biological environment.

The wetting characteristics of fluids play a crucial role in various fields of interface and surface science. Contact angle serves as a fundamental indicator of wetting behavior. However, accurate quantification of wetting phenomena even at the macroscale often poses challenges, particularly due to the hysteresis between receding and advancing contact angles. The complexity increases further at the nanoscale, where the significant volume of the interphase region causes ambiguity in defining the “dividing surface.” In this study, we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the wetting dynamics of a “cylindrical nanodroplet” and an argon nanofilm. Through analysis of microscopic density distribution maps and tension tensor distributions within the Gibbs framework, we identified equimolar and tension surfaces at both liquid-gas and liquid-solid interfaces. Our results show over 10% discrepancies between equilibrium contact angles calculated for equimolar surfaces and those based on tension surfaces in the case of the cylindrical nanodroplet. We observed a clear dependence of wetting contact angles on the cross-sectional radius of cylindrical droplets with a straight three-phase contact line. As the radius decreases, the differences between contact angles at equimolar and tension surfaces increase, while for larger droplets, these differences diminish and become negligible.