ramé-hart
Glossary of Surface Science Terms

A

Adhesion (also called dispersive or adsorptive adhesion) describes the force that holds dissimilar molecules together. (See image under Wettability section.) In surface science the Work of Adhesion is the interactive force between the liquid and solid phases and we use the Young-Dupree equation as follows:

In surface science, the term "adhesion" almost always refers to dispersive adhesion. In a typical solid-liquid-gas system (such as a drop of liquid on a solid surrounded by air) the contact angle is used to quantify adhesiveness. In the cases where the contact angle is low, more adhesion is present. This is due to a larger surface area between the liquid and solid and results in higher surface energy. The Work of Adhesion explains the interactive force between the liquid and solid phases and the Young-Dupree equation is used to calculate the Work of Adhesion. The contact angle of the three-phase system is a function not only of dispersive adhesion (interaction between the molecules in the liquid and the molecules in the solid) but also cohesion (interaction between the liquid molecules themselves). Strong adhesion and weak cohesion results in a high degree of wetting, a lyophilic condition with low measured contact angles. Conversely, weak adhesion and strong cohesion results in lyophobic conditions with high measured contact angles and poor wetting.

Advancing and Receding Contact Angles are typically measured using a tilting base option. As the solid is tilted from 0° to 90°, the uphill angle (or receding angle) decreases while the downhill angle (or advancing angle) increases. As some point the drop may release at the Roll-off Angle. The difference between the advancing and receding angle is called the Contact Angle Hysteresis. This value is important to understanding roughness, surface heterogeneity, and cleanliness.

An alternate method of measuring the advancing and receding angles requires volume of liquid to be added or and removed while dynamically measuring the contact angle as shown below. This method can be automated with the ramé-hart Automated Dispensing System.

BC

Cassie State exists when a drop sits on topology and the voids between the asperities or topological features are filled with air resulting in a hydrophobic condition. The apparent (i.e., measured) contact angle is defined by Cassie's formula which includes a variable to account for the percentage of surface under the liquid drop is in contact with the solid. See also Wenzel state.

Cohesion explains intermolecular attraction between like-molecules. In surface science it's the cohesive force that holds the liquid phase together and contributes to Wettability (see graphic under Wettability). The Work of Cohesion is defined as the force required to separate the liquid into separate parts and we use this formula:

Contact Angle can be measured by producing a drop of pure liquid on a solid. The angle formed between the solid/liquid interface and the liquid/vapor interface and which has a vertex where the three interfaces meet is referred to as the contact angle.

Contact Angle is measured on sessile drops by viewing the profile of the drop and then measuring the angle whose vertex begins at the three-phase line, i.e., where the drop meets the solid, and then proceeds along the tangency of the semi-spherical drop as shown in the diagram below. A simple contact angle measurement works best on a clean flat homogeneous solid which is horizontally leveled as shown below. Young's Equation is used to explain the balance of forces that are present in three-phase system with a solid, a liquid, and an external gas phase. Cohesion explains the force that holds the liquid molecules together while adhesion explains the force that attracts the liquid to the solid.

Contaminated surfaces inhibit wetting and thus produce higher contact angles than are produced on clean surfaces. In addition to contamination, many other environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, surface roughness, material homogeneity, and static electricity can affect contact angle.

Dynamic measurements (where the contact angle is measured periodically over time) are useful for quantifying the efficacy of surfactants and other surface treatments. Other factors that can affect dynamic measurements include evaporation, molecular relaxation, absorption of the liquid into a porous solid, and adsorption.

Contact Angle Hysteresis is the difference between the Advancing and Receding Contact Angles and is used to characterize surface roughness and surface heterogeneity. It is affected by cleanliness, the presence of Surfactants, and other Surface Treatments.

D

Dewetting occurs when a thin liquid film on a solid or on another liquid phase ruptures and produces drops. It's the opposite of wetting.

A Dynamic Contact Angle is measured on a drop that is in motion -- for example, while volume is being added to or removed from the drop -- or while tilt is occurring.

The Du Noüy-Padday Rod Pull Method is a highly accurate way to measure Surface Tension. This method is employed by the ramé-hart Model 710 DAS Tensiometer.

EFG

Goniometer or Contact Angle Goniometer is an instrument that is used to precisely measure static and dynamic contact angles of liquids on solids. The modern contact angle goniometer was invented by Dr. William Albert Zisman at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC and built by ramé-hart in New Jersey. The original Zisman design, aka the NRL Goniometer Model 100-00, was in production for nearly four decades. The current generation ramé-hart goniometer replaces the microscope with a digital camera and imaging software to collect and measure contact angle. Additionally, the new generation of instruments can calculate surface energy, surface tension as well as perform advancing and receding measurements and other more advanced tasks.

H

Hydrophilicity occurs when a water drop forms with a small contact angle and wetting is nearly complete; surface energy is very high. If the water contact angle approaches 0°, the material is said to be superhydrophilic. Strictly speaking a hydrophilic surface is one that attracts water (hydro = water). When referring to other liquids, other descriptors (such as omniphobic may be more suitable. 

Hydrophobicity occurs when a water drop forms with a large contact angle, say over 100°. In this condition wetting is considered poor and surface energy is low. If the contact angle exceeds 150°, such as water on a lotus leaf, then the material is considered superhydrophobic. If the contact angle exceeds 160°, then the term ultrahydrophobic is often used.

Hygrophobicity and hygrophilicity refer to conditions where any liquid (not just water) is repelled or attracted to a surface. These terms are not widely used.

Hyperhydrophobicity and its converse, hyperhydrophilicity, are both terms used by Dr. Carel van Oss in an attempt to describe what most surface scientist refer to as superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity respectively. The argument is that Latin and Greek roots cannot be combined to form a new word. Since hydro is a Greek root, the correct prefix to connote an extreme condition should be hyper a Greek root, not super a Latin root.

I

Interfacial Tension is the surface free energy between two immiscible liquid phases (e.g. oil and water). It is similar to surface tension except that the external phase is a liquid rather than a gas. An emulsifier is often used to lower the surface free energy thus allowing the disparate liquids to mix.

JKL

Lipophilicity refers to an affinity for fats, lipids, and nonpolar solvents such as hexane. Such a surface is lipophilic.

Lipophobicity is the converse to lipophilicity.

Lotus Effect refers to the superhydrophobic condition produced by the leaf of a lotus plant which typically exceeds 170°. The lotus effect exhibits a low roll-off angle and is characterized by a Cassie regime in which the Adhesive forces between the water drop and the surface are extremely weak thus providing a Self-cleaning property. The Lotus Effect contrasts with the Petal Effect.

Lyophobicity is generally used to describe colloids. A lyophobic colloid, for example, is one that repels liquids (solvents) due to the limited interaction between the dispersed phase and the continuous phase. A solid is lyophobic if it repels a solvent.

Lyophilicity occurs when a liquid (typically a solvent) wets well on a surface and thus produces low contact angles. 

MNO

Oleophilicity is characterized by a strong affinity for oils.

Oleophobic surfaces, by contrast, repel oils. The new 3GS iPhone, for example, features a touch screen with an oleophobic polymer film designed to resist fingerprints.

An omniphobic surface exhibits poor wetting and high contact angles for both polar and apolar liquids. The condition is omniphobicity.

An omniphilic surface exhibits excellent wetting and produces low contact angles for both polar and apolar liquids. The condition is omniphilicity.

P

A Pendant Drop hangs, typically from a needle, and can be used to measure surface tension.

The Petal Effect is the result of a Cassie impregnated wetting state and can be found on rose petals. The surface is hydrophobic like the Lotus leaf but the roll-off angle is typically high due to a greater adhesion between the petal and the water drop.

A Phase in surface science refers to a liquid (drop), solid (substrate), and gas (external phase). Commonly the liquid phase is water and the gas phase is air. Surface Tension is when a liquid pendant drop is suspended in a gaseous external phase. Interfacial Tension is measured when the external phase is another liquid. The temperature and relative humidity of the external phase as well as the temperature of the solid and liquid phases can affect contact angle and wettability.

R

Roll-off Angle is the maximum tilt angle that a solid can be tilted before a drop releases. This is most often measured using a tilting base option. See Advancing and Receding Contact Angles. Drops on hydrophobic solids tend to have lower roll-off angles than drops on hydrophilic surfaces which often don't even roll off. A higher roll-off angle indicates stronger adhesion forces. While generally liquids with higher contact angles exhibit lower roll-off angles, there are examples of superhydrophobic surfaces with high roll-off angles. This phenomenon is explained by high adhesive forces combined with even higher cohesive forces within the liquid molecules.

QRS

Self-cleaning see Lotus Effect.

A Sessile Drop sits on a solid surface and can be used to measure contact angle and surface tension.

A Static Contact Angle is measured on a sessile liquid drop on a solid in a gas phase or a captive bubble gas drop in a liquid phase on (the bottom of) a solid when the drop is not changing.

Superhydrophobicity occurs when the measured water contact angle greater than 150°. Super is often added to other descriptors such as superomniphobic, superlyophobic, etc.  

Superhydrophilicity is used to describe complete or nearly complete wetting when the contact angle is at or close to 0°. The term ultrahydrophobicity is often used interchangeably. 

Surface Energy or Surface Free Energy is the excess energy at the surface of a material compared with the material as a whole. There are various methods for measuring surface energy. Young's equation is one method which can be used to quantify surface energy. Other methods for measuring Surface Energy include: the Acid-Base Tool, the Work of Adhesion Tool, Zisman's Plot, Solid-Liquid-Liquid Surface Energy Tool, and the One-Drop Tool. For more information on these tools, see DROPimage Standard.

Surface Tension is described as a measurement of energy on the surface of a liquid surrounded by a gas which allows it to behave like an elastic sheet and can be measured using the pendant drop or sessile drop methods using a ramé-hart tensiometer.

Surface Dilatational Elasticity and Viscosity are measured using an Oscillator which provides periodic oscillatory deformation of sessile and pendant drops.  The axisymmetric drop and bubble shape methods are used to measure these properties.

Surface Treatments consist of surfactants, which minimize surface tension of liquids, surface coatings and surface altering treatments (such as hardening, diffusion, and glazing) which are designed to alter the surface energy of solids.

Surfactant, derived from "surface acting agent", is a wetting agent used to lower the surface tension of a liquid allowing improved wetting. They can also reduce the interfacial tension between two liquids (such as oil and water).

T

Tensiometer is any instrument that can measure surface tension. The ramé-hart Model 250, 290, and 500 instruments with DROPimage Advanced, for example, measure surface tension and interfacial tension via the pendant and sessile drop method based on the Young-Laplace equation. The ramé-hart DAS Tensiometer Model 710 uses the Du Noüy-Padday Rod Pull Method. 

U

Ultrahydrophobicity occurs when the measured contact angle of a water drop on a surface is greater than 160°. This is also often referred to as the Lotus Effect due to the super water repelling properties of the Lotus leaf. The ultra root can be added to other descriptors, such as in ultralyophobicity.

Ultrahydrophilicity is often used interchangeably with superhydrophilicity to indicate a condition where complete wetting or very low water contact angles are measured. The ultra root can be added to t

VW

Wenzel State exists when the liquid of a drop fills the voids in the solid on which it sits. See diagram above under Cassie State. According to Wenzel's formula, a roughness variable is used to account for the increased surface area which results in higher contact angles on superhydrophobic solids.

Wettability defines the degree to which a solid will wet. If a drop spreads out indefinitely and the contact angle approaches 0°, then total wetting is occurring. In most cases, however, the drop will bead up and only partial wetting (or non-wetting) will occur.  The extent to which a solid will wet can be quantified by measuring the contact angle.

Wettability determined by the cohesive forces of the liquid molecules among themselves and the adhesive forces that result from the molecular interactions between the liquid and the solid as illustrated in the diagram below. (In real life, the molecules are not so neatly organized.)

Wettability can be explained by the relative strength of the cohesive (Liquid/Liquid) and adhesive (Solid/Liquid) forces as shown above and below. Strong adhesion with weak cohesion produces very low contact angles with nearly complete wetting. As the solid/liquid interactions weaken and the liquid/liquid interactions strengthen, wetting diminishes and contact angle increases.

Work of Adhesion determines an index of wetting for a liquid on a given solid. The Adsorption Theory explains that van der Waals interactions should be sufficient for good adhesion.

XYZ

Young-Laplace Equation in surface science is used to describe the capillary pressure between the interfaces of two phases (such as water and air) which results from surface tension.  The equation is represented as follows:

∆p is the difference in pressure between liquids at the interface.

γ is the surface tension.

ň is a unit normal to the surface.

H is the mean curvature.

R₁ and R₂ correspond to the principal radii of curvature.

Young's Equation is used to explain the balance of forces of a liquid drop on a solid surface.

Zisman, Dr. William is the inventor of the modern contact angle goniometer which he designed at the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC in the 1960's. For more information, see this article.

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