Wetting dynamics from the macroscale to nanoscale

Wetting of a solid surface by a liquid and its dynamics over the surface is a complex phenomenon that operates across multiple scales, ranging from macroscopic to molecular levels. It involves a liquid and a solid phase (surface), reflecting the competition's outcome among long and short-range atomic and molecular interactions. At the macroscopic level, wetting is controlled by surface forces (tension) and quantified by contact angles (advancing and receding) and, eventually, contact angle hysteresis. However, at the micro and nanoscale, wetting remains a molecular phenomenon strongly dependent on the interactions between the atoms and molecules located on the solid surface and liquid phase near the interphase (interface) between the liquid and the solid. Wetting is affected by the morphology of the solid surface and potential surface treatments and/or coatings, capable to affect the atomic and molecular interactions. The current editorial investigates the wetting phenomena at equilibrium and its dynamics on solid surfaces at different scales and highlights the related phenomena.

Automated summary

Wetting of a solid surface by a liquid and its dynamics is a complex phenomenon that operates across multiple scales, influenced by surface forces and atomic and molecular interactions.