Wetting Dynamics on Superhydrophilic Surfaces Prepared by Photonic Microfolding

The wetting dynamic on microrough and perfectly wetting (superhydrophilic) acrylates was studied. These surfaces were achieved by coating polymer films made of poly(ethylene­terephthalate) (PET) with a hydrophilic acrylate based on hydroxypropylacrylate and polyethyleneglycolmonoacrylate, which was then cured and microroughened by photonic microfolding. The high transparency of the thin acrylate layers and polymer films allowed us to record the spreading of an applied water droplet through the film samples. Subsequently, the dynamic radius of the spreading pattern r c(t) was determined from the video recording. Various models for the wetting dynamics of superhydrophilic surfaces, namely, Tanner’s law and a roughness-modified derivation published by McHale et al. in 2009, were then compared to the experimental results. Basically, the development of r c(t) in time was found to be in good agreement with McHale’s model. Data analysis showed, however, that the initial phase of the spreading, that is, for t < 1 s, was not predicted well. This differing behavior relates well to a theory published by Cazabat and Cohen Stuart, who proposed that, on rough surfaces, spreading follows a power law in three time regimes. In this model, the (very) initial spreading is expected to be similar to the spreading on a smooth surface.