title: Complete Wetting of Pt(111) by Nanoscale Liquid Water Films.
abstract: The melting and wetting of nanoscale crystalline ice films on Pt(111) that are transiently heated above the melting point in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) using nanosecond laser pulses are studied with infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy and Kr temperature-programmed desorption. The as-grown crystalline ice films consist of nanoscale ice crystallites embedded in a hydrophobic water monolayer. Upon heating, these crystallites melt to form nanoscale droplets of liquid water. Rapid cooling after each pulse quenches the films, allowing them to be interrogated with UHV surface science techniques. With each successive heat pulse, these liquid drops spread across the surface until it is entirely covered with a multilayer water film. These results, which show that nanoscale water films completely wet Pt(111), are in contrast to molecular dynamics simulations predicting partial wetting of water drops on a hydrophobic water monolayer. The results provide valuable insights into the wetting characteristics of nanoscale water films on a clean, well-characterized, single-crystal surface.
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: Yuntao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: Collin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Dibble
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: Nikolay G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Petrik
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: R Scott
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: Bruce D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, United States.
authors.forename: Greg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kimmel