Convex Nanobending at a Moving Contact Line: The Missing Mesoscopic Link in Dynamic Wetting

The morphological information on the very front of a spreading liquid is fundamental to our understanding of dynamic wetting. Debate has lasted for years concerning the nanoscopic local angles and the transition from them to the macroscopic counterpart, theta(D). This study of nonvolatile liquids analyzes the interface profile near the advancing contact line using an advanced atomic force microscopy. The interface is found following the macroscopic profile until bending in a convex profile around 20 nm from the substrate. This shoe-tip-like feature is common in partially wetting while absent for completely wetting, and its curvature varies with advancing speed. The observation ends the long-standing debate about the nanoscopic contact angles and their speed dependency. The convex nanobending provides a mesoscopic link and effectively complicates the dynamic wetting behaviors.