University of Connecticut |
Polymer Program SeminarWetting - One Molecule at a Time Friday, November 12, 2004 11:00 am , IMS Room 20 Wetting and flow properties of liquids on solid surfaces play a key role in many practical applications and physiological processes such as oil recovery, lubrication, painting, inkjet printing, and mass transport through the lung airways. During the last 20 years, significant experimental and theoretical studies have been carried out to understand the way fluids wet surfaces. These studies have led to a macroscopic understanding of wetting; however, the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. This lack of microscopic knowledge is now an urgent problem limiting developments in microfluidic devices and nanoscale machines, whose characteristic time and length scales are approaching those of individual molecules. Our research program develops a molecular-level understanding of spreading phenomena in thin liquid films by visualizing individual molecules as they spread to cover a solid substrate. Molecular visualization by AFM enabled (i) quantitative characterization of the molecular kinematics in liquid monolayers, (ii) independent measurements of the pressure gradient and the sliding friction, and (iii) discovery of flow instabilities triggered by switching of the molecular conformation.
This seminar series is sponsored by a generous grant from U.S. Surgical Corporation. |