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From the recent advent of the new soft-micro technologies, the hydrodynamic theory of surface modes propagating on viscoelastic bodies has reinvigorated this field of technology with interesting predictions and new possible applications, so recovering its scientific interest very limited at birth to the academic scope. Today, a myriad of soft small objects, deformable meso- and micro-structures, and macroscopically viscoelastic bodies fabricated from colloids and polymers are already available in the materials catalogue. Thus, one can envisage a constellation of new soft objects fabricated by-design with a functional dynamics based on the mechanical interplay of the viscoelastic material with the medium through their interfaces. In this review, we recapitulate the field from its birth and theoretical foundation in the latest 1980s up today, through its flourishing in the 90s from the prediction of extraordinary Rayleigh modes in coexistence with ordinary capillary waves on the surface of viscoelastic fluids, a fact first confirmed in experiments by Dominique Langevin and me with soft gels [Monroy and Langevin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3167 (1998)]. With this observational discovery at sight, we not only settled the theory previously formulated a few years before, but mainly opened a new field of applications with soft materials where the mechanical interplay between surface and bulk motions matters. Also, new unpublished results from surface wave experiments performed with soft colloids are reported in this contribution, in which the analytic methods of wave surfing synthetized together with the concept of coexisting capillary-shear modes are claimed as an integrated tool to insightfully scrutinize the bulk rheology of soft solids and viscoelastic fluids. This dedicatory to the figure of Dominique Langevin includes an appraisal of the relevant theoretical aspects of the surface hydrodynamics of viscoelastic fluids, and the coverage of the most important experimental results obtained during the three decades of research on this field.

We describe a new interferometric technique to study gas-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces. Bubbles and drops are subjected to an alternating electric field which excites capillary oscillations at the interface, if charged. Bubble or drop deformation is detected by the change of the internal optical path of a laser beam crossing perpendicular to the oscillation axis. Due to the closed geometry, a discrete spectrum of stationary oscillation frequencies (normal modes) is excited. The interferometric nature of the measurement and the resonant nature of the oscillation modes concur in allowing for high sensitivity, in the sub-nanometric region. We present a detailed description of the experimental setup and examples of applications of the technique to the study of both gas-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces, either naked or with adsorbed surfactant monolayers, for bubbles and drops with diameter ~ 1 mm. In particular, the resonance frequencies and the width of the resonance peaks depend on the surface tension and the viscous dampening, respectively. We show that, by this new technique, properties of the interface can be accessed with confidence at the sub-nanometer scale, and surface phenomena, like the monolayer phase transition or the peculiarities of adsorption/desorption processes, can be unraveled in concentration regimes which are too low for existing methods.

The liquid wetting and dewetting of solids are ubiquitous phenomena that occur in everyday life. Understanding the nature of these phenomena is beneficial for research and technological applications. However, despite their importance, the phenomena are still not well understood because of the nature of the substrate's surface energy non-ideality and dynamics. This paper illustrates the mechanisms and applications of liquid wetting and dewetting on hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates. We discuss the classical understanding and application of wetting and film stability criteria based on the Frumkin-Derjaguin disjoining pressure model. The roles of the film critical thickness and capillary pressure on the film instability based on the disjoining pressure isotherm are elucidated, as are the criteria for stable and unstable wet films. We consider the film area in the model for the film stability and the applicable experiments. This paper also addresses the two classic film instability mechanisms for suspended liquid films based on the conditions of the free energy criteria originally proposed by de Vries (nucleation hole formation) and Vrij-Scheludko (capillary waves vs. van der Waals forces) that were later adapted to explain dewetting. We include a discussion of the mechanisms of nanofilm wetting and dewetting on a solid substrate based on nanoparticles' tendency to form a 2D layer and 2D inlayer in the film under the wetting film's surface confinement. We also present our view on the future of wetting-dewetting modeling and its applications in developing emerging technologies. We believe the review and analysis presented here will benefit the current and future understanding of the wetting-dewetting phenomena, as well as aid in the development of novel products and technologies.

Each experimental method has a certain range of application, and so do the instruments for measuring dynamic interfacial tension and dilational rheology. While the capillary pressure tensiometry provides data for the shortest adsorption times starting from milliseconds at liquid/gas and tens of milliseconds at liquid/liquid interfaces, the drop profile tensiometry allows measurements in a time window from seconds to many hours. Although both methods together cover a time range of about eight orders of magnitude (10(-3) s to 10(5) s), not all surfactants can be investigated with these techniques in the required concentration range. The same is true for studies of the dilational rheology. While drop profile tensiometry allows oscillations between 10(-3) Hz and 0.2 Hz, which can be complemented by measurements with capillary pressure oscillating drops and the capillary wave damping method (up to 10(3) Hz) these six orders of magnitude in frequency are often insufficient for a complete characterization of interfacial dilational relaxations of surfactant adsorption layers. The presented analysis provides a guide to select the most suitable experimental method for a given surfactant to be studied. The analysis is based on a diffusion controlled adsorption kinetics and a Langmuir adsorption model.

Lateral fluctuations in the local position of the center of the interface between coexisting phases in unmixed polymer blends lead to a broadening of interfacial widths; comparing self-consistent field predictions for the ‘intrinsic’ profile to simulations (or experiments), this ‘capillary wave’ broadening needs consideration. This problem has been studied by extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the bond fluctuation model for symmetrical polymer mixtures, both for free interfaces (between bulk phases) and for confined interfaces (in thin films between parallel walls). While the capillary wave predictions at large length scales are confirmed, the extraction of the ‘intrinsic’ profile remains a problem. Related experiments are also briefly discussed.

The diffuse literature on drop oscillation is reviewed, with an emphasis on capillary wave oscillations of constrained drops. Based on the review, a unifying conceptual framework is presented for drop and bubble oscillations, which considers free and constrained drops/bubbles, oscillation of the surface or the bulk (i.e. center of mass) of the drop/bubble, as well as different types of restoring forces (surface tension, gravity, electromagnetic, etc). Experimental results (both from literature and from a new set of experiments studying sessile drops in cross flowing air) are used to test mathematical models from literature, using a novel whole profile analysis technique for the new experiments. The cause of oscillation (cross flowing air, vibrated surface, etc.) is seen not to affect oscillation frequency. In terms of models, simplified models are seen to poorly predict oscillation frequencies. The most advanced literature models are found to be relatively accurate at predicting frequency. However it is seen that no existing models are reliably accurate across a wide range of contact angles, indicating the need for advanced models/empirical relations especially for drops undergoing the lowest frequency mode of oscillation (the order 1 degree 1 non-axisymmetric bending mode that corresponds to a lateral rocking motion of the drop)., This research was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant. A. Amirfazli held a Canada Research Chair in Surface Engineering during the period of this work. A.J.B. Milne was supported by an NSERC CGS-D, an Alberta Ingenuity (now Alberta Innovates) Nanotechnology Research Scholarship, and an Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. B. Defez acknowledges the support of the Generalitat Valenciana (project BEST/2010/169) and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (project PAID-00112721). M. Cabrerizo-Vilchez acknowledges the support of the Ministerio Espanol de Ciencia e Innovacion (project MAT2011-23339).

The field of quasi-elastic light scattering from thermally excited capillary waves at liquid surfaces is reviewed, with particular attention to scientific advances since 1992. These include surface-induced freezing in molecular fluids, the cross-over from capillary to elastic Rayleigh waves on the surfaces of gelling polymer solutions, the experimental demonstration of mixing of capillary and dilatational surface modes and the observation of effects due to processes tending to reduce the stability of the dilatational waves on surfactant solutions. The potential of this technique for surface and interface science is discussed.

The mechanical and thermodynamical approaches to the theory of the general curved interfaces are presented and compared. In the mechanical approach a curved interface or membrane is characterized by the tensors of surface stresses and moments. They are connected by the surface balances of the linear and angular momentum. On the other hand, in the thermodynamical approach the surface is characterized by the scalar dilation and shear tensions as well as by the bending and torsion moments. In this review we investigate the problem about the relationships connecting the mechanical and thermodynamical approaches. We find that these two approaches are in a good agreement, that they are complementary to each other and represent the two parts of a self-consistent theory. The latter can be applied to any system where curved interfaces, thin films or membranes are present: microemulsions, lamellar and sponge phases, lipid vesicles and cell membranes, capillary waves at interfaces, undulation and peristaltic surface forces, lateral capillary forces between particles in thin liquid films, etc.

Adequately probing interfacial or (free) surface waves offers the possibility of exploring qualitative and quantitative equilibrium and rheological features hence large scale and long time dynamics. Several experimental techniques are briefly reviewed. The combination of capillary waves experiments with methods based on analyzing the mechanical deformation of the surface allows to explore dynamics from the microsecond scale up to collective phenomena relaxing at very long times, seconds, minutes or even hours. Results related to the scaling behavior of insoluble polymer films, and to the existence of a glass transition in quasi-2D systems are also discussed.

A review of recent results on the dilational surface viscoelastic properties of aqueous solutions of non-ionic polymers is given. In the frequency range from 0.001 up to 1000 Hz the methods of transverse and longitudinal surface waves and the oscillating barrier method were applied. Viscoelastic behavior of adsorbed polymer films significantly differs from the behavior of films formed by only conventional surfactants of low molecular weight. For example, the dynamic surface elasticity of the former systems is low and almost constant in a broad concentration range. One can observe the increase of the surface elasticity only at extremely low concentrations and/or in the range of semi-dilute solutions. If the surface stress relaxation in conventional surfactant solutions is usually determined by the diffusional exchange between the surface layer and the bulk phase, the relaxation processes in the polymer systems proceed mainly inside the surface layer. Possible mechanism of the latter relaxation is discussed.