Dynamics of wetting layer formation
We study the formation and growth of wetting layers in the binary liquid mixture cyclohexane-methanol. By progressively deuterating the methanol we can tune the equilibrium wetting layer thickness. Hysteresis of the transition is observed for large thicknesses and is absent for thinner ones. This can be understood by calculating the activation energy for wetting layer nucleation as a function of the film thickness. We also show that the late-stage growth of the wetting layer after the nucleation process follows a power law in time, in agreement with a diffusion-limited growth mechanism proposed theoretically.
Bonn
D
Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Superieure, 24, Rue Lhomond, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Bertrand
E
Meunier
J
Blossey
R