Transition temperatures and contact angles in the sequential-wetting scenario of n-alkanes on (salt) water

Simple item page
dc.creatorWeiss, Volker C.
dc.creatorIndekeu, Joseph O.
dc.date2003-05-05
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:51:11Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:51:11Z
dc.descriptionAlkanes of medium chain length show an unusual wetting behavior on (salt) water, exhibiting a sequence of two changes in the wetting state. When deposited on the water surface at low temperatures, the liquid alkane forms discrete droplets that are interconnected only by a molecularly thin film. On increase of the temperature, there occurs a sudden jump of the film thickness and, at this first-order transition, a mesoscopically thick layer of liquid alkane is formed. Heating the system further leads to a divergence of the film thickness in a continuous manner. While the long-range forces between substrate and adsorbate are responsible for the critical transition, which occurs at the temperature at which the Hamaker constant changes sign, it is primarily the short-range components of the forces that bring about the first-order transition. We calculate the Hamaker constant of the system and show how, within a modified Cahn theory, accurate predictions of the first-order transition temperatures can be obtained for n-alkanes (pentane and hexane) on water and even on brine. Furthermore, we study the variation of the contact angle as a function of temperature.
dc.description10 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, Boulder, CO (22-27 May 2003)
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0305077
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0305077
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/21357
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.titleTransition temperatures and contact angles in the sequential-wetting scenario of n-alkanes on (salt) water
dc.typetext

Files

Collections

arXiv