Estimation of Intrinsic Contact Angle of Various Liquids on PTFE by Utilizing Ultrasonic Vibration

The contact angle measured using the sessile drop method is typically an advancing contact angle, which is often used for the evaluation of wettability. However, the precise measurement of the contact angle on rough substrates has been required for developing various industrial processes. In this study, a new measuring method by achieving the minimum total free energy by ultrasonic vibration (USV) was developed. The new method has been demonstrated for different rough surfaces, droplet volumes, and wettability conditions. The advancing contact angle significantly decreased when the USV is applied, but it immediately increased after stopping the USV. In order to capture the droplet behavior at the beginning and end of the USV, a high-speed camera was used. The contact angle was apparently a receding contact angle after stopping the ultrasonic vibration. Accordingly, the intrinsic contact angle was estimated using the values of the advancing contact angles obtained before applying the ultrasonic vibration and the receding contact angles obtained after stopping the ultrasonic vibration.