Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Predicting Surface Wetting

Abstract

The investigation of wetting of a solid surface by a liquid provides important insights; the contact angle of a liquid droplet on a surface provides a quantitative measurement of this interaction and the degree of attraction or repulsion of that liquid type by the solid surface. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a useful way to examine the behavior of liquids on solid surfaces on a nanometer scale. Thus, we surveyed the state of this field, beginning with the fundamentals of wetting calculations to an examination of the different MD methodologies used. We highlighted some of the advantages and disadvantages of the simulations, and look to the future of computer modeling to understand wetting and other liquid-solid interaction phenomena.