The Direct Cause of Amplified Wettability: Roughness or Surface Chemistry?

Higher contact angles or amplified wettability observed on surfaces of rough solid materials are typically expressed as a function of a physical dimension (roughness factor). Herein, we present a simple experimental approach that demonstrates that roughness may only magnify the inherent surface chemistry that seems to have direct influence on surface wettability. We investigate gradual change in surface chemistry (hydrophobisation) of rough and smooth glass surfaces, from a very low concentration (10−7 M) of dichlorodimethylsilane, DCDMS through various intermediate hydrophilic/hydrophobic states to when the surfaces are maximally hydrophobised with DCDMS at 0.1 M. The wettability of the modified glasses was studied by water contact angle measurements using drop shape analysis system (DSA). The data obtained indicate a deviation from Wenzel model, with the functionalized rough glass surfaces showing higher reactivity towards DCDMS when compared to the smooth glass surfaces, indicating that the two surfaces are not chemically identical. Our study reveals that just like transforming a solid material to powder, a well-divided glass (rough) surface may not only exhibit a greater surface area than the smooth counterpart as rightly predicted by the Wenzel model, but seems to be bloated with functional groups (–OH or –CH3) that can amplify surface interaction when such functional species dominate the solid surface.