Spreading Index of Melted Alkali Halides over the Charged Surface of Liquid Bismuth

Abstract

The experimental data obtained by measuring the interfacial tension between liquid bismuth and sodium chloride, bromide, or iodide melts in a wide range of voltages are presented and analyzed. In the range of anodic polarization, a critical potential was found, above which the two-phase system loses mechanical stability. The observed phenomenon is associated with the transition of the system to the film mode of surface wetting. The critical wetting potential decreases with increasing polarizability of the salt phase anion. Near the critical potential, the dependence of the wetting index on the applied voltage is quadratic.