AN IMPROVED COMBINING RULE FOR SOLID-LIQUID ADHESION AND INTERMOLECULAR POTENTIALS: FORMULATION AND APPLICATION

We have formulated a combining rule for solid–liquid adhesion and intermolecular potentials using macroscopic adhesion data. The combining rule is applied successfully to determine macroscopic solid–liquid adhesion and to calculate adhesion patterns using molecular theory. We found that the results determined from our combining rule are better than those by the 9:3, Steele's, and 12:6 combining rules in terms of scatters and details. Our results suggest that macroscopic data from careful contact angle and adhesion findings can be used to infer relationships of unlike solid–fluid interactions at a molecular level.