Wetting of soap bubbles on hydrophilic, hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces

Steve Arscott

doi:10.1063/1.4812710

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arXiv · 1303.6414

Wetting of soap bubbles on hydrophilic, hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces

Steve Arscott

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Abstract

Wetting of sessile bubbles on solid and liquid surfaces has been studied. A model is presented for the contact angle of a sessile bubble based on a modified Young equation - the experimental results agree with the model. A hydrophilic surface results in a bubble contact angle of 90 deg whereas on a superhydrophobic surface one observes 134 deg. For hydrophilic surfaces, the bubble angle diminishes with bubble radius - whereas on a superhydrophobic surface, the bubble angle increases. The size of the Plateau borders governs the bubble contact angle - depending on the wetting of the surface.

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Steve Arscott. 2013-03-26. Wetting of soap bubbles on hydrophilic, hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4812710

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