Wetting phenomena of binary liquid mixtures on chemically altered substrates

Abstract

We report measurements of the state of wetting of two liquid mixtures at coexistence near their respective critical consolute temperatures. Borosilicate glass capillary tubes were reacted with hexamethyldisilazane to produce substrates of uniform and controlled silylation. Surfaces of low coverage exhibit a series of first-order partial to complete wetting transitions and obey a short-range force scaling relation. Surfaces of high coverage yield surprising results which may be understood as a consequence of long-range forces.