Surface Tension Components Research Articles

On the Effect of Substrate Viscoelasticity on the Evaporation Kinetics and Deposition Patterns of Nanosuspension Drops.

This study investigates the evaporation of sessile pure water and nanosuspension drops on viscoelastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films. We varied the viscoelasticity of the PDMS films by controlling the curing ratio and categorized them into three types: stiff (10:1, 20:1, 40:1), soft (60:1, 80:1), and very soft (100:1, 120:1, 140:1, 160:1). On stiff surfaces, pure water drops initially evaporate in a constant contact radius (CCR) mode, followed by a constant contact angle mode, and finally in a mixed mode of evaporation. Nanosuspension drops follow the same trend as water drops but with a difference toward the end of their lifetimes, when a short second CCR mode is observed. Complete evaporation of nanosuspension drops on stiff substrates leads to particle deposition patterns similar to a coffee ring with cracks and deposition tails. On soft surfaces, the initial spreading is followed by a pseudo-CCR mode. Complete evaporation of nanosuspension drops on soft substrates leads to deposits in the form of a uniform ring with a sharp ox-horn profile. Unexpectedly, the initial spreading is followed by a mixed mode on very soft substrates, on which wetting ridges (WRs) pulled up by the vertical component of surface tension are clearly observed in the vicinity of the contact line (CL). As the evaporation proceeds, the decreasing contact angle breaks the force balance in the horizontal direction at the CL and gives rise to a net horizontal force, which causes the CL to recede, transferring the horizontal force to the WR. Because of the viscoelastic nature of the very soft substrate, this horizontal force acting on the WR cannot be completely countered by the bulk of the substrate underneath. As a result, the WR moves horizontally in a viscous-flow way, which also enables the CL to be continuously anchored to the ridge and to recede relative to the bulk of the substrate. Consequently, a mixed mode of evaporation occurs. Complete evaporation of nanosuspension drops on very soft substrates leads to finger-like deposits.

New insights into the impact of nanoscale surface heterogeneity on the wettability of polymeric membranes

The impact of surface nanoscale physical heterogeneity on the wettability of polymeric membranes is still elusive. Conventional wettability analysis includes quantifying the membrane surface roughness using AFM followed by measuring the apparent equilibrium contact angle of DI water over the membrane surface. Here, we present a novel experimental approach, solely based on contact angle analysis, to elucidate the impact of surface heterogeneity on the wettability of dense polymeric membranes. The proposed approach involves evaluation of equilibrium and advancing contact angles of at least three non-polar liquids over the membrane surface. Using this information, the wettability parameters including the surface roughness-ratio, frictional pinning force, and the dispersive surface tension component of the polymeric membranes were successfully quantified. The comparison with the conventional approach showed that there are 10%–20% discrepancies between the AFM-based and contact angle-based wettability parameters. The results revealed that the AFM measurements strongly depend on the size of the scanned area, particularly for samples with large surface heterogeneity. Furthermore, the water flux decline due to colloidal fouling was found to be in good agreement with the results of our proposed model. This study can provide new insights into developing advanced membrane materials with desired surface wettability and antifouling property.

2D MoSe2-based nanofluids prepared by liquid phase exfoliation for heat transfer applications in concentrating solar power

Concentrating solar power (CSP) is one of the most promising environmentally-friendly sources of energy for meeting global energy demands. One line of research intended to improve this kind of solar plants involves increasing the efficiency of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) used, one option being the use of nanofluids. Consequently, this study involves a methodology based on liquid phase exfoliation to prepare stable nanofluids based on 2D MoSe2. A surfactant was used to modify the ratio of the components of the fluid's surface tension in order to obtain a stable nanofluid. Five nanofluids were prepared based on MoSe2 nanosheets, Dowtherm A heat transfer fluid and the Triton X-100 surfactant. The stability of the nanofluids was analysed for a month. Lastly, their thermal properties were characterized. The best nanofluid presented improvements of 7% in isobaric specific heat, 4% in diffusivity and 11% in thermal conductivity. Therefore, these nanofluids would appear to provide a good starting point for creating an alternative to the conventional HTFs used in thermosolar plants. The study highlights the importance of optimizing the parameters of the ratio of the surface tension components, the kind of surfactant added and the methodology used to prepare the nanofluid.

Characterizing the Surface Free Energy of Composite Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries

One of the crucial steps in battery manufacturing is the electrolyte wetting step which typically requires a relatively long time to be completed. It is known that the relationship between polar and dispersive components of the electrolyte surface tension and the electrode surface free energy (SFE) plays a vital role in the extent of wetting and, thus, tuning the SFE can accelerate the wetting step in battery manufacturing. This work developed and validated a systematic approach to characterize surface free energy of composite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, which has never been reported in literature. It’s demonstrated as shown in Figure 1 [1] that the SFE of LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 cathode was higher than the graphite anode. In addition, when switching manufacturing from conventional solvent based processing to aqueous processing, the polar component of SFE increases; it increases 74.1% from NMC532-NMP to NMC532-Water, and 48.2% from A12-NMP to A12-Water due to different binders. SFE decreases with reducing porosity. The results provide valuable guidance for our goal to optimize the electrolyte wetting process, helping lower costs and enable higher product quality. In addition, the method allows us to characterize the SFE of electrodes and optimize electrolyte wetting via tailored electrode manufacturing, including slurry and electrode formulation, mixing sequences, drying protocols and calendering. Figure 1 Surface energy of electrodes Reference: [1] A. Davoodabadi, J. Li, Y. Liang, R. Wang, H. Zhou, D.L. Wood III, T. J. Singler, and C. Jin, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 165(11) (2018) A2493-A2501 Figure 1

Statistical Analysis of the Accuracy of Solid Surface Tensions Calculated from Error-Included Contact Angle and Liquid Surface Tension Data by the Multi-component Approach

Both exclusive and synergetic effects of errors in contact angle (CAEs) and liquid surface tension data (LSTEs) on the accuracy and statistics of solid surface tension components and parameters (SSTCPs)/square roots of SSTCPs (SQSSTCPs) were investigated. The calculations were done by Monte Carlo simulations covering the whole ranges of CAs or SSTCPs that can be determined by the most widely used liquid triplets. The results showed that on most part of valid domains the multi-component approach determined SSTCPs/SQSSTCPs at moderate accuracy even when both input errors were involved. However, the approach should be applied with caution on domains where the relative-root-mean-square errors of SSTCPs were higher than 20 % due to the reduced accuracy and skewed distributions of SSTCPs which made sample mean no longer a preferred measure of central tendency of the distribution. The results revealed the necessity of statistical consideration in evaluation and application of the multi-component approach.

Loading the dice: The orientation of virus-like particles adsorbed on titanate assisted organosilanized surfaces.

The organization of virus-like particles (VLPs) on surfaces is a relevant matter for both fundamental and biomedical sciences. In this work, the authors have tailored surfaces with different surface tension components aiming at finding a relationship with the affinity of the different geometric/surface features of icosahedral P22 VLPs. The surfaces have been prepared by titanate assisted organosilanization with glycidyloxy, amino, and perfluoro silanes. Vibrational and photoelectron spectroscopies have allowed identifying the different functional groups of the organosilanes on the surfaces. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that, irrespective of the organosilane used, the final root mean square roughness remains below 1 nm. Contact angle analyses confirm the effective formation of a set of surface chemistries exhibiting different balance among surface tension components. The study of the adsorption of P22 VLPs has involved the analysis of the dynamics of virus immobilization by fluorescence microscopy and the interpretation of the final VLP orientation by AFM. These analyses give rise to statistical distributions pointing to a higher affinity of VLPs toward perfluorinated surfaces, with a dominant fivefold conformation on this hydrophobic surface, but threefold and twofold symmetries dominating on hydrophilic surfaces. These results can be explained in terms of a reinforced hydrophobic interaction between the perfluorinated surface and the dominating hydrophobic residues present at the P22 pentons.

Stochastic transient Liquid-Solid Phase Separation reveals multi-level Dispersion States of Particles in Suspension

Abstract Wall slip or, more usually, liquid-solid phase separation at the boundary wall when measuring the rheological properties of particulate suspensions is normally considered an undesirable source of error. However, exclusion of a structure consisting of multiple particulates at a planar boundary can, in turn, reveal the nature of that structure and the way it interacts with other elements in the dispersion. Using a system of surface-treated ground calcite particles, designed to control lyophilicity, dispersed, respectively, in two comparative liquids, hexadecane (dispersive surface tension component only) and linseed oil (both dispersive and polar surface tension components), the relative wettability of the particulate surface can be studied. The static state is viscoelastic, with the elastic component reflecting the network of interacting forces acting to structure the particles together and/or to trap liquid within the long-range particle-particle matrix. As strain is applied under plate-plate geometry, selected aggregate structures become size-excluded at the wall, leading to a loss of shear coupling with the bulk polydisperse suspension. At high strain, given optimal solids content, this results in a stochastic transition between two discrete stress data sets, i.e. that with full shear coupling and that with only partial coupling. Stress recovery is subsequently monitored as strain is step-wise reduced, and the progress toward loss of the stochastic transient phenomenon, together with its parallel change in magnitude, is used to describe the re-formation of primary agglomerates. Cessation of the phase separation indicates re-build of the close-to-static structure. Under certain conditions it is observed that the cessation may be accompanied by a secondary relaxation of state, indicating the build of a secondary but weaker structure, likened to the well-known dual-level flocculation in aqueous colloidal suspension. Rheo-optical observations using small angle light scattering illumination (SALS) are used to confirm a structure model switching from static (uncoupled with shear) to rotating (fully coupled to the boundary-defined shear) and finally uniformly sheared.

Meta-Analysis Comparing Wettability Parameters and the Effect of Wettability on Friction Coefficient in Lubrication

This work presents a meta-analysis that compares the suitability of various parameters used to characterize wettability in tribological systems. It also examines the relationship between wettability and the friction factor for multiple lubricant-surface pairings. The characterization of wetting behavior was similar when using the contact angle between a lubricant and surface and various dimensional and dimensionless formulations of a spreading parameter. It was possible to identify hydrodynamic, boundary, and mixed lubrication regimes by combining a dimensionless wettability parameter with the specific film thickness for a variety of neat ionic liquids and magnetorheological fluids in contact with metallic, thermoplastic, and elastic surfaces. This characterization was possible using multiple dimensionless wettability parameters, but those that can be fully determined using only the contact angle may be preferred by experimentalists. The use of dimensional and dimensionless wettability parameters that included polar and disperse components of surface tension and surface energy did not appear to provide additional insight into the wettability or frictional performance for the tribological system examined here.

Graphene nanosheets obtained through graphite powder exfoliation in pulsed underwater electrical discharge

Graphene nanosheets were produced by graphite exfoliation through underwater electrical discharge, also known as plasma underwater. Graphite particles were dispersed in different solvents with different ratios between polar and dispersive surface tension components (pure water and an aqueous solution of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at different concentrations (1:1 and 7:3 IPA:Water)) under constant stirring and low voltage pulses (about 1.5 kV). Even under relative low voltage, the production of graphene was observed in all solvents with the most of the graphene sheets containing less than 10 monolayers. Results show that further affinity between the surface tensions of the graphite and the solvents influenced in the characteristic of the graphene obtained. The 7:3 IPA/water solution has a similar ratio between polar and dispersive surface tension components to the graphite and the mixture. Exfoliation product obtained with this mixture presented an intense peak at ∼284.3 eV, which is corresponding to sp2 binding, characteristic of the graphene. However, in this solution, it was observed further break of C-C bonds and a significant reduction of its surface area. Smaller graphene flakes sizes present more C-O contents due to the carboxyl groups be more likely to form at graphene edges than at defect sites within the basal plane.

Surface tension determination in glyoxal-silica dispersed system

Preliminary studies have shown the possibility of using glyoxal-silica dispersed system for soil stabilization in groundwork base and utility systems. However, the problem associated with optimizing the composition can be solved by measuring energy characteristics. Since the interaction in glyoxal-silica system takes place at the interphase the surface tension was chosen as an energy parameter. The aim of research was to compare calculated by Zisman’s and Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble (OWRK) methods surface tension values of glyoxal-silica composition. Polymineral sand was used as the silica model. The surface tension value calculated by Zisman's method is σc=27.47 mN/m. According to the OWRK method, the polar component of surface tension for test material is σSP=12.61 mN/m, dispersion component is σSD=13.50 mN/m, and the total value of surface tension is σS=26.11 mN/m. Comparison of surface tension values calculated by different methods has shown good repeatability. However, the OWRK method provides a more detailed overview of interaction in the glyoxal-silica system and makes it possible to estimate the contribution of polar and dispersion components to the total value of a surface energy characteristic. Therefore, the OWRK method can be recommended for characterizing the structure formation process when optimizing the organomineral compound composition.

Wettability and Adhesion Work Prediction in the Polymer–Aqueous Solution of Surface Active Agent Systems

The wettability of solids by aqueous solutions of surfactants is very important in many practical applications. Thus, the measured advancing contact angles of aqueous solutions of chosen surfactants on polyethylene (PE) and those taken from the literature on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and polyamide (nylon 6) were analyzed. Based on the measured values of the contact angles and the literature data of the surface tensions of the studied surfactant solutions, their adsorption at the PE–water interface and the work of adhesion (Wa) were determined. The values of Wa to PE calculated on the basis of the contact angles and surface tensions of these solutions were compared to those determined by applying the new Lifshitz–van der Waals component of the water–PE surface tension. There was a good agreement between the Wa values determined in two different ways. Their contact angles were calculated using the values of PE surface tension, the new Lifshitz–van der Waals component of the water surface tension, and the surface tension of aqueous solutions of the studied surfactants. The contact angle values calculated in such a way were close to the measured values. In the case of PTFE, the same relations were obtained. The values of Wa to PMMA and nylon 6 could be also predicted.

Wetting and adhesion properties of rhamnolipid and surfactin

The measurements of the contact angle of the aqueous solution of rhamnolipid (RL) and surfactin (SF) on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), nylon 6 and quartz were performed. The obtained values of the contact angle were analyzed by applying the components and parameters of the surface tension of aqueous solution of surfactants, PTFE, PE, PMMA, nylon 6 and quartz. This analysis showed that the contact angle of the solution on the hydrophobic solids can be predicted theoretically knowing the Lifshitz-van der Waals component of the water surface tension, the surface tension of the solids and that of the solution. Based on the contact angle values the critical surface tension of studied solids wetting, the adsorption of surfactants at the solid-water interface, the standard Gibbs free energy of adsorption as well as the work of adhesion of solutions to PTFE, PE, PMMA, nylon 6 and quartz surfaces were determined. It proved that the critical surface tension of wetting of the studied solids is different from their surface tension and that the work of adhesion of the aqueous solutions of RL and SF to PTFE, PE, PMMA, nylon 6 and quartz surfaces can be predicted from the components and parameters as well as the total surface tension of solids and solutions.

High hole-mobility of rrP3HT in organic field-effect transistors using low-polarity polyurethane gate dielectric

Abstract We report unusually high charge carrier mobilities for regioregular poly(3-hexyltiophene) (rrP3HT) in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using polyurethane (PU) as dielectric layer. Our devices display hole mobilities up to 1.37 cm2/V in the saturation regime and an ON/OFF current ratio higher than 103, operating at voltages as low as −10 V, with a high IDS current of 1.5 μA. We assign the measured high mobilities mainly to the low density of randomly-oriented electric dipoles at the semiconductor/dielectric interface, which leads to a narrow energy distribution of the electronic levels available for charge transport in rrP3HT. This is confirmed by experimental and theoretical techniques: (1) temperature-dependent transport measurements for extraction of disorder-induced distribution of electronic levels; (2) density functional theory (DFT) calculations of electric dipole moments of PU; and (3) liquid contact-angle measurements for the dipolar component of dielectric surface tension.

Flexible, Durable, and Unconditioned Superoleophobic/Superhydrophilic Surfaces for Controllable Transport and Oil–Water Separation

AbstractSuperoleophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces have incomparable advantages for oil–water separation and oil droplet manipulation; however, such surfaces are difficult to obtain on the basis of surface tension theory, and existing attempts are either not fully functional or are nondurable. Here, a solution to achieve the combination of superoleophobicity and superhydrophilicity by emphasizing the polar component of surface tension is proposed. The developed surfaces can be flexibly applied to almost any solid substrate and exhibit superoleophobic and instantaneous superhydrophilic property. The surfaces applied to certain substrates can be used for controllable oil transport, oil–water separation, and emulsion demulsification. Furthermore, a novel ferroconcrete‐like structure to substantially increase the durability of the developed surfaces without affecting the superwettability is developed. The coated steel meshes preserve the ability of the material to separate oil–water mixtures even after over 400 m abrasion, which can be a significant step toward its widespread application.

Poly(lactic acid) phase transitions in the presence of nano calcium carbonate: Opposing effect of nanofiller on static and dynamic measurements

The effect of stearic acid-coated nano calcium carbonate (NCC) on transitions and chain mobility of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated. Dispersion state of NCC in polymeric matrix was explored using scanning electron microscopy and surface tension component measurements. Trends of PLA transitional phenomena were investigated using the results of dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the nanocomposite systems based on PLA and NCC. In addition, two types of crystal structures and decreasing the glass transition temperature were distinguished using temperature-modulated DSC (TMDSC). Higher melting points of polymer crystals were found in TMDSC experiments due to low and dynamic heating rate compared to the conventional DSC. Dynamics of polymer chains, affected by NCC, were quantified using cooperativity length, ξ α, and the number of relaxing structural units, Nα, in the glass transition region. NCC particles hindered the cooperative motion of polymer chains at glass transitions and crystallization in TMDSC measurements, whereas the DMA results indicated that NCC particles may act as lubricant and simplified chain mobility.

Charge, size distribution and hydrophobicity of viruses: Effect of propagation and purification methods

Two virus propagation methods (in broth and on double agar overlay) and three purification procedures (PEG precipitation, centrifugal diafiltration and CsCl density gradient centrifugation) were comparatively evaluated using MS2 and P22 bacteriophages as model viruses. The prepared stocks were characterized in terms of electrophoretic mobility as a function of pH, particle size distribution, surface tension components and the overall hydrophobicity of the virus, as well as the percentage of infectious and total virus recovered. The obtained data were used to rank the purification methods according to six criteria of likely practical relevance. Regardless of the purification method applied, virus propagation in broth media resulted in higher purity virus stocks as the growth on double agar overlay introduced difficult-to-remove residual agar. CsCl density gradient centrifugation gave the highest quality bacteriophage suspensions, recovered infectious P22 at least as efficiently as the other two purification methods and selected for intact P22 virions over damaged ones. The impurities remaining in the virus suspension after PEG precipitation and centrifugal diafiltration broadened the size distribution and interfered with electrophoretic mobility measurements. The residual impurities had a major impact on the free energy of virus-virus interfacial interaction (the quantitative measure of virus hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity) leading to an incorrect determination of P22 bacteriophage as hydrophilic. The trends in measured physicochemical properties can be rationalized by considering impurity-coated virions as permeable soft particles.

Impact of reference values used for surface free energy determination: An uncertainty analysis

Polar and dispersion surface free energy (SFE) can be determined with the Owens-Wendt method. Thereby, contact angles (CAs) of at least two liquids with known surface tension (ST) components are measured. The ST components can either be determined through experiment or drawn from literature. However, it is important to know how big the difference is between SFE component values that have been calculated with experimentally-determined ST values or values derived from literature. In this study, STs of different test liquids were analyzed by Pendant Drop method and the components by CA measurement on a non-polar surface. CAs on different polymer surfaces were measured to calculate SFE components with the Owens-Wendt method. The calculations conducted were either based on experimentally-determined ST parts or different sets of values found in the literature. The findings of the survey show that, depending on the set of literature values used, the SFE results deviate significantly from the values obtained from experiment. Expressing this deviation in figures, in extreme cases the polar part differs for some polymers by -100% to +100%, with the dispersion component spanning -50% to +43%. In comparison, the expected relative uncertainties exhibited by the experimentally-determined ST values are about 15% for the polar and approximately 5% for the dispersion SFE part. Hence, the results show that the SFE uncertainty can be reduced significantly by means of analyzing the ST parts experimentally.

Evaluation of dispersion interaction in glyoxal/silica organomineral system

It is proposed to use an organomineral additive based on glyoxal and saponite-containing waste in order to stabilize the road base. Preliminary studies have shown that soil modification with the organomineral additive with a quantitative ratio of components of glyoxal − 0.52 % and saponite-containing material − 17 % of sand mass increases its specific cohesion by 50 times. However, it is necessary to study the mechanism of interaction between the additive components and soil to optimize the composition and technology of additive introduction into the soil. This paper examines dispersion interaction in glyoxal/silica organomineral system. The Hamaker constant was chosen as a main parameter to evaluate dispersion interaction. This constant is determined based on the principle of measuring the contact angle of wetting with service fluids and calculating the dispersion component of material surface tension. The Hamaker constant in the glyoxal/silica organomineral system was 0.25·10−20 – 2.8·10−20 J at different glyoxal contents, while its maximum value was observed at 0.52 % glyoxal content. The results compared with literature and previously obtained data demonstrated good reproducibility.

Properties of Self-Assembled Monolayers Revealed via Inverse Tensiometry.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have emerged as a simple platform technology and hence have been broadly studied. With advances in state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization methods, new insights into SAM structure and related properties have been delineated, albeit with some discrepancies and/or incoherencies. Some discrepancies, especially between experimental and theoretical work, are in part due to the misunderstanding of subtle structural features such as phase evolution and SAM quality. Recent work has, however, shown that simple techniques, such as the measurement of static contact angles, can be used to delineate otherwise complex properties of the SAM, especially when complemented by other more advanced techniques. In this article, we highlight the effect of nanoscale substrate asperities and molecular chain length on the SAM structure and associated properties. First, surfaces with tunable roughness are prepared on both Au and Ag, and their corresponding n-alkanethiolate SAMs are characterized through wetting and spectroscopy. From these data, chain-length- and substrate-morphology-dependent limits to the odd-even effect (structure and properties vary with the number of carbons in the molecules and the nature of the substrate), parametrization of gauche defect densities, and structural phase evolution (liquidlike, waxy, crystalline interfaces) are deduced. An evaluation of the correlation between the effect of roughness and the components of surface tension (polar-γp and dispersive-γd) reveals that wetting, at nanoscale rough surfaces, evolves proportionally with the ratio of the two components of surface tension. The evolution of conformational order is captured over a range of molecular lengths and parametrized through a dimensionless number, χc. By deploying a well-known tensiometry technique (herein the liquid is used to characterize the solid, hence the term inverse tensiometry) to characterize SAMs, we demonstrate that complex molecular-level phenomena in SAMs can be understood through simplicity.

Particle and surfactant interactions effected polar and dispersive components of interfacial energy in nanocolloids

We segregate and report experimentally for the first time the polar and dispersive interfacial energy components of complex nanocolloidal dispersions. In the present study, we introduce a novel inverse protocol for the classical Owens Wendt method to determine the constitutive polar and dispersive elements of surface tension in such multicomponent fluidic systems. The effect of nanoparticles alone and aqueous surfactants alone are studied independently to understand the role of the concentration of the dispersed phase in modulating the constitutive elements of surface energy in fluids. Surfactants are capable of altering the polar component, and the combined particle and surfactant nanodispersions are shown to be effective in modulating the polar and dispersive components of surface tension depending on the relative particle and surfactant concentrations as well as the morphological and electrostatic nature of the dispersed phases. We observe that the combined surfactant and particle colloid exhibits a similar behavior to that of the particle only case; however, the amount of modulation of the polar and dispersive constituents is found to be different from the particle alone case which brings to the forefront the mechanisms through which surfactants modulate interfacial energies in complex fluids. Accordingly, we are able to show that the observations can be merged into a form of quasi-universal trend in the trends of polar and dispersive components in spite of the non-universal character in the wetting behavior of the fluids. We analyze the different factors affecting the polar and dispersive interactions in such complex colloids, and the physics behind such complex interactions has been explained by appealing to the classical dispersion theories by London, Debye, and Keesom as well as by Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory. The findings shed light on the nature of wetting behavior of such complex fluids and help in predicting the wettability and the degree of interfacial interaction with a substrate in such multicomponent nanocolloidal systems.