Wetting in high-temperature materials processing: The case of Ni/MgO and NiW10/MgO

The wetting behavior of liquid Ni and NiW10 on MgO(1 0 0) single crystals was examined by the sessile drop method at 1773 K in flowing Ar. A special procedure was used for in situ opening of the Ni/MgO and NiW10/MgO interfaces directly during wettability test at high temperature. Scanning probe microscopy revealed evidence of strong surface modification of MgO(1 0 0) during wettability tests that was found to be affected by metal evaporation, the chemistry of the liquid metal and the primary oxide film.