Wetting of Solid Surfaces: Fundamentals and Charge effects

► Solid-liquid adhesion is governed by van der Waals and acid-base interactions. ► Surfactant adsorption modifies wetting of low- and high-energy surfaces differently. ► The “effective” SL-interfacial tension is the excess Gibbs energy of the SL-interface. ► Contact angle saturation occurs when the interfacial water structure becomes unstable. ► An unstable water structure prevents a further increase of the acid-base interactions.