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Geometry-dominated fluid adsorption on sculpted solid substrates

Nature volume 407, pages 986–989 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The shape1,2 and chemical composition3 of solid surfaces can be controlled at a mesoscopic scale. Exposing such structured substrates to a gas that is close to coexistence with its liquid phase can produce quite distinct adsorption characteristics compared to those of planar systems4, which may be important for technologies such as super-repellent surfaces5,6 or micro-fluidics7,8. Recent studies have concentrated on the adsorption of liquids on rough9,10,11 and heterogeneous12 substrates, and the characterization of nanoscopic liquid films13. But the fundamental effect of geometry on the adsorption of a fluid from the gas phase has hardly been addressed. Here we present a simple theoretical model which shows that varying the shape of the substrate can exert a profound influence on the adsorption isotherms of liquids. The model smoothly connects wetting and capillary condensation through a number of examples of fluid interfacial phenomena, and opens the possibility of tailoring the adsorption properties of solid substrates by sculpting their surface shape.

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Figure 1: Schematic bulk phase diagram of a fluid showing the coexistence between gas and liquid phases.
Figure 2: Phase diagram for the adsorption isotherms at generalized solid wedges with cross-section proportional to |x|γ in the x direction.
Figure 3: Geometrical construction for determining the shape of the adsorbed layer.
Figure 4: Adsorption isotherms for solid wedges with cross-section described by a shape function proportional to |x|γ in the x direction.

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Acknowledgements

C.R. acknowledges financial support from the European Commission.

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  1. Department of Mathematics, Imperial College, 180 Queen's Gate, London, SW7 2BZ, UK

    C. Rascón & A. O. Parry

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  1. C. Rascón
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Correspondence to A. O. Parry.

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Rascón, C., Parry, A. Geometry-dominated fluid adsorption on sculpted solid substrates. Nature 407, 986–989 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35039590

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