Spreading of latex particles on a substrate

¹ Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (UMR CNRS 7125, FR CNRS 2438), Collège de France 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Received: 29 April 2002
Accepted: 24 September 2002

Abstract

We have investigated both experimentally and theoretically the spreading behavior of latex particles deposited on solid substrates. These particles, which are composed of cross-linked polymer chains, have an intrinsic elastic modulus. We show that the elasticity must be considered to account for the observed contact angle between the particle and the solid substrate, as measured through atomic-force microscopy techniques. In particular, the work of adhesion computed within our model can be significantly larger than that from the classical Dupré formula.