Kelvin equation for bridging transitions

0584763 - ÚCHP 2025 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Malijevský, Alexandr - Pospíšil, M.
Kelvin equation for bridging transitions.
Physical Review E. Roč. 109, č. 3 (2024), č. článku 034801. ISSN 2470-0045. E-ISSN 2470-0053
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA21-27338S
Institutional support: RVO:67985858
Keywords : contact angle * density functional theory * kelvin equation
OECD category: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.)
Impact factor: 2.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access

We study bridging transitions between a pair of nonplanar surfaces. We show that the transition can be described using a generalized Kelvin equation by mapping the system to a slit of finite length. The proposed equation is applied to analyze the asymptotic behavior of the growth of the bridging film, which occurs when the confining walls are gradually flattened. This phenomenon is characterized by a power-law divergence with geometry-dependent critical exponents that we determine for a wide class of walls’ geometries. In particular, for a linear-wedge model, a covariance law revealing a relation between a geometric and Young’s contact angle is presented. These predictions are shown to be fully in line with the numerical results obtained from a microscopic (classical) density functional theory.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0352607