Quantized Contact Angles in the Dewetting of a Structured Liquid

Mark Ilton, Pawel Stasiak, Mark W. Matsen, and Kari Dalnoki-Veress
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 068303 – Published 14 February 2014
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

We investigate the dewetting of a disordered melt of diblock copolymer from an ordered residual wetting layer. In contrast to simple liquids where the wetting layer has a fixed thickness and the droplets exhibit a single unique contact angle with the substrate, we find that structured liquids of diblock copolymer exhibit a discrete series of wetting layer thicknesses each producing a different contact angle. These quantized contact angles arise because the substrate and air surfaces each induce a gradient of lamellar order in the wetting layer. The interaction between the two surface profiles creates an effective interface potential that oscillates with film thickness, thus, producing a sequence of local minimums. The wetting layer thicknesses and corresponding contact angles are a direct measure of the positions and depths of these minimums. Self-consistent field theory is shown to provide qualitative agreement with the experiment.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 3 October 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.068303

© 2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Mark Ilton1, Pawel Stasiak2, Mark W. Matsen2,3, and Kari Dalnoki-Veress1,4,*

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
  • 2School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AX, United Kingdom
  • 3Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
  • 4Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI, Paris, France

  • *dalnoki@mcmaster.ca

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 112, Iss. 6 — 14 February 2014

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×