Influence of solid-liquid interactions on dynamic wetting: a molecular dynamics study

Large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of liquid drops spreading on a solid substrate have been carried out for a very wide range of solid-liquid interactions and equilibrium contact angles. The results for these systems are shown to be consistent with the molecular-kinetic theory (MKT) of dynamic wetting, which emphasizes the role of contact-line friction as the principal channel of energy dissipation. Several predictions have been confirmed. These include a quantitative link between the dynamics of wetting and the work of adhesion and the existence of an optimum equilibrium contact angle that maximizes the speed of wetting. A feature of the new work is that key parameters (kappa(0) and lambda), normally accessible only by fitting the MKT to dynamic contact angle data, are also obtained directly from the simulations, with good agreement between the two sources. This validates the MKT at some fundamental level. Further verification is provided by contact angle relaxation studies, which also lend support to the interfacial tension relaxation process invoked in Shikhmurzaev's hydrodynamic model of dynamic wetting.