A model of wetting on quasicrystals in ambient air

Water does not wet well-polished quasicrystal surfaces, in strong contrast to the behavior observed on aluminum metal in ambient atmosphere. Contact angle measurements combined with a determination of the electronic partial density of states and of oxide layer thicknesses demonstrate that this unexpected wetting property is related to the electronic density of states within the bulk material, underneath the oxide layer, and to the thickness of the oxide layer. A model is derived in this paper that aims at an interpretation of these results in terms of electrostatic image forces developed in the conduction electron cloud by the dipoles of the water molecules. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.