Asymmetric coalescence of reactively wetting droplets

Coalescence of droplets during reactive wetting is investigated for the liquid Ga/GaAs(001) system. In situmirror electron microscopy reveals that coalescence predominantly involves the motion of one reactive droplet relative to the other. This behaviour differs significantly from coalescence in non-reactive systems and is associated with contact line pinning at a ridge/etch pit edge which is identified using atomic force microscopy and selective etching. A simple geometrical model is presented to describe the pinning