Surfactant Surfactant Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants. The term "surfactant" is a blend of "surface active agent". In the United States National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary, "surfactant" is reserved for the meaning pulmonary surfactant. For the more general meaning, "surface active agent/s" is the heading. Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning they contain both hydrophobic groups (their "tails") and hydrophilic
Vapor–liquid–solid method crystalline substrate is determined by a balance of the forces of surface tension and the liquid–solid interface tension. The radius of the droplet varies with the contact angle as: formula_1 where "r" is the radius of the contact area and β is defined by a modified Young’s equation: formula_2, It is dependent on the surface (σ) and liquid–solid interface (σ) tensions, as well as an additional line tension (τ) which comes into effect when the initial radius of the droplet is small (nanosized). As a nanowire begins to grow, its height increases by an amount "dh" and the radius of