The influence of line tension on the formation of liquid bridges in atomic force microscope-like geometry

TL;DR

This paper investigates how line tension affects the formation of liquid bridges in an atomic force microscope-like setup, analyzing phase transitions and coexistence lines in confined fluids.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the phase diagram considering line tension effects in a model geometry relevant to atomic force microscopy.

Findings

Line tension influences the phase transition between bridged and unbridged states.

The structure of the coexistence line depends on the line tension coefficient.

Phase diagrams are characterized for different line tension values.

Abstract

The phase diagram of a fluid confined between a planar and a conical walls modelling the atomic force microscope geometry displays transition between two phases, one with a liquid bridge connecting the two walls of the microscope, and the other without bridge. The structure of the corresponding coexistence line is determined and its dependence on the value of the line tension coefficient is discussed.