Statics and Dynamics of Contact Lines of Nematic Liquid Crystals on Mica

Abstract

Small drops (1-10 μl) of two nematic liquid crystals were spread on the surface of freshly cleaved mica. Their rates of spreading and the apparent dynamic contact angles were measured as functions of time using a contact angle goniometer. From the experimental results, we argue that the elastic effects influence spreading rates for both wetting and nonwetting liquids. in addition, the apparent discontinuity in the orientation of the director at the contact line appears to represent a key feature that influences wettability and wetting rates. in particular, they tend to change a wetting liquid to a nonwetting liquid, provide added volume dependence in the wetting rates and can show in a few cases a reversal in wettability during spreading.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Crystal; Dynamics; Static Electricity; Surface Tension; Wetting

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0009-2509

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2000 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2000

Link to Full Text

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