In surface science, surface free energy (also interfacial free energy or surface energy) quantifies the disruption of intermolecular bonds that occurs when a surface is created. In solid-state physics, surfaces must be intrinsically less energetically favorable than the bulk of the material (the atoms on the surface have more energy compared with the atoms in the bulk), otherwise there would be a driving force for surfaces to be created, removing the bulk of the material (see sublimation). The surface energy may therefore be defined as the excess energy at the surface of a material compared to the bulk, or it is the work required to build an area of a particular surface. Another way to view the surface energy is to relate it to the work required to cut a bulk sample, creating two surfaces. There is "excess energy" as a result of the now-incomplete, unrealized bonding between the two created surfaces.
Cutting a solid body into pieces disrupts its bonds and increases the surface area, and therefore increases surface energy. If the cutting is done reversibly, then conservation of energy means that the energy consumed by the cutting process will be equal to the energy inherent in the two new surfaces created. The unit surface energy of a material would therefore be half of its energy of cohesion, all other things being equal; in practice, this is true only for a surface freshly prepared in vacuum. Surfaces often change their form away from the simple "cleaved bond" model just implied above. They are found to be highly dynamic regions, which readily rearrange or react, so that energy is often reduced by such processes as passivation or adsorption.
The most common way to measure surface energy is through contact angle experiments. In this method, the contact angle of the surface is measured with several liquids, usually water and diiodomethane. Based on the contact angle results and knowing the surface tension of the liquids, the surface energy can be calculated. In practice, this analysis is done automatically by a contact angle meter.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Le cours traite des concepts de l'électromagnétisme et des ondes électromagnétiques.
This lecture introduces the basic concepts used to describe the atomic or molecular structure of surfaces and interfaces and the underlying thermodynamic concepts. The influence of interfaces on the p
Acquire an understanding of interfacial phenomena, micro-heterogeneous colloidal solution systems and dynamic electrochemistry.
Learn how to study and improve the durability of cementitious materials.
In surface science, surface free energy (also interfacial free energy or surface energy) quantifies the disruption of intermolecular bonds that occurs when a surface is created. In solid-state physics, surfaces must be intrinsically less energetically favorable than the bulk of the material (the atoms on the surface have more energy compared with the atoms in the bulk), otherwise there would be a driving force for surfaces to be created, removing the bulk of the material (see sublimation).
Wetting is the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface, resulting from intermolecular interactions when the two are brought together. This happens in presence of a gaseous phase or another liquid phase not miscible with the first one. The degree of wetting (wettability) is determined by a force balance between adhesive and cohesive forces. Wetting is important in the bonding or adherence of two materials. Wetting and the surface forces that control wetting are also responsible for other related effects, including capillary effects.
Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another (cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles/surfaces to cling to one another). The forces that cause adhesion and cohesion can be divided into several types. The intermolecular forces responsible for the function of various kinds of stickers and sticky tape fall into the categories of chemical adhesion, dispersive adhesion, and diffusive adhesion.
An extensive understanding of WO3 and WSe2 bulk crystalline structures and explicit solvent effects on (001)-WO3 and (100)-WSe2 facets are essential for design of efficient (photo) electrocatalysts. T
ELSEVIER2022
State-to-state molecule/surface scattering experiments prepare the incident molecules in a specific quantum state and measure the quantum state distribution of the scattered molecules. The comparison
By virtue of its high throughput multiplex detection capability, superior read-out sensitivity, and tiny analyte consumption, an optically enhanced protein microarray assay has been developed as a pro