Influence of droplet size and surface preparation of TiO2 on contact angle determination

Abstract

Nowadays, much attention is paid to thin films surface wettability parameter. Hydrophobic coatings are well used for water repellant materials, while hydrophilic thin films are often used in anti-fogging applications. Titanium dioxide is one of the best materials for thin film coatings applications, due to its electrical, optical, chemical and physical properties such as photocatalysis, high transparency in visible light or high hardness. In this paper, surface wettability of TiO2 thin films was researched. Influence of droplet size and sample preparation method on calculation of contact angle was investigated. It was concluded, that pre- measurement sample handling as well as measurement procedure had huge impact on obtained results.