Investigation of effective interface potentials by electrowetting

Abstract

We study a situation where the complete wetting of a dielectric solid by a dielectric liquid, in a conducting surrounding, is altered by the application of an electrical potential difference. Calculations predict a dewetting transition towards pseudo-partial wetting. More generally, in a pseudo-partial wetting situation (pre-existing or electrically induced), the mesoscopic film coexisting with the macroscopic droplet is expected to be thinned by the electrostatic pressure in a way that is directly related to its effective interface potential. This points out a possibility to tune the thickness of a fluid film in a nanometric regime.