This project deals with fundamental, microscopic aspects of the wetting and spreading of fluids on solid surfaces. Understanding and controlling these phenomena pose both scientific questions and technological problems. Static and dynamic phenomena will be probed on both the macroscopic and microscopic scales using optical, x-ray and neutron techniques. One goal is to understand the behavior of macroscopic contact angles and their dependence on properties of the materials involved. A further goal is to understand the origins of the macroscopic behavior with the microscopic structures and dynamics of fluids confined by the interfaces at and near the contact line, the point where the fluid body ends at the solid surface. Results of the proposed research will improve the understanding of fundamental wetting phenomena and will add to the needed scientific basis needed for engineering advanced materials and technological processes dominated by wetting and spreading.
