Investigation of the wettability of solid surface with varied interface chemistry

The contact angle is required in measuring the wetting characteristics. Small contact angles correspond to high wettability and vice versa. Contact angle measurement techniques which are already established are quite complex and expensive. An experimental setup for measuring the contact angle of liquid droplet on solid surface has been proposed in the present study. The major challenge with this technique is the modification required to overcome the difficulties in the experimental packing technique needed, and more importantly, to obtain the contact angle values without any complications. This work started with a review of the fundamental science behind wetting and contact angle phenomena, followed by a description of the technique established to measure contact angle. Direct capturing the image of a droplet on a surface by a digital camera and measurement of contact angles from digital images based on direct image processing using image J software has been described in this work. This is an attempt toward the understanding of wettability phenomena on glass surfaces aimed at the measurement of contact angle for different conditions. Modification of surface chemistry affects the contact angle of liquid on glass surface due to the variation of interfacial interaction. Experimental studies of contact angle phenomena on glass surfaces has been carried out toward understanding the wettability of surfaces having different extent of hydrophilicity. The study of the relationship between interface chemistry and the wettability is expected to be helpful in designing or improving surface-based domestic appliences.

• Supervision