title: Dewetting of the three-phase contact line on solids.
abstract: Liquid adsorption on a substrate has great applications in inkjet printing as well as micro/nano fabrication. In this letter, we focus on obtaining a better understanding of the pinning-dewetting phenomenon through solubility measurements during droplet evaporation. The physical adsorption/penetration of liquid on the substrate material is considered to be responsible for the pinning of the three-phase contact line. Once the adsorption surrounding the contact line reaches equilibrium, dewetting occurs and the droplet shrinks. The absorption kinetics of water molecules on different substrates was monitored. An analytical technique was developed to measure the threshold adsorption density of trace solvents on these substrates including different polymers, silicon, and gold.
authors.affiliation: Langmuir Center for Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA. xf2106@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sokolov
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafailovich