Wetting transitions in a binary thin-film

J. Favergeon, J. Y. Huh, William C. Johnson, S. M. Wise

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The effect of finite thickness of a binary thin-film system exhibiting a consolute critical point on the wetting behavior at the planar film-substrate interface was examined by accounting for the short-range chemical interaction between the film and substrate. Owing to the limited amount of mass available within the film, the first-order adsorption transition obtained from the one-dimensional equilibrium analyses has a physical meaning only when the film is initially uniform in composition. The line of first-order adsorption transition is strongly affected by the finite film thickness, with the composition line shifting inward towards the bulk miscibility gap as the film thickness decreases. However, when the film is initially in a two-phase mixture state, two-dimension simulations showed that the wetting transition from partial to perfect wetting is hardly influenced by the film thickness. The results of the present study suggest that the wetting behavior of a thin film at a given film composition and temperature depends critically on the initial state of the film.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)487-497
Number of pages11
JournalMetals and Materials International
Volume11
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005 Dec

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
JF acknowledges the Conseil Regional de Bourgogne for the financial support during his postdoctoral stay at UVA. JYH is grateful for the financial support of Korea University. WCJ and SMW are grateful for the financial support of the U. S. National Science Foundation through the Center for the Design of Nanoscopic Materials, Grant DMR0080016.

Keywords

  • First-order surface adsorption transition
  • Interfacial interaction
  • Numerical simulation
  • Thin film
  • Wetting transition

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Materials Chemistry

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