Nondeterministic Wetting of Janus Microspheres at\nthe Oil/Water Interface

We\ninvestigate the nondeterministic wetting behaviors of Janus\nparticles at the <i>n</i>-decane/water interface. Upon adsorption\nat the interface, only some particles reach their thermodynamically\nstable configuration, while many remain in random nonequilibrium states\nlikely due to contact line pinning. Experimental data and Monte Carlo\nsimulations show that particles in nonequilibrium states with lower\nthree-phase contact angles exhibit reduced attractive forces due to\na smaller radius of the three-phase contact line. We also find that\nvertical translation more easily leads to equilibrium than rotational\nmotion. This work motivates further exploration into the effects of\nsurface tension and surface roughness on identifying the pinning energy\nbarrier, as well as the pinning behavior of biological materials.