A video-based optical contact angle measuring instrument, OCA 15EC, was used to collect, assess, and evaluate the measured data of static and dynamic contact angles of deionized water on various hydrophilic surfaces. The OCA 15EC contact angle goniometer uses SCA software that is designed to be used by all OCA instruments as a modular program. The SCA software enables a user to automatically measure contact hysteresis and record/store image sequences. A database of liquids and solids can be found to provide statistics and measurement error analysis for all surface energy analysis methods.

This instrument is used for precise and reliable methods to evaluate drop contours on the plane, convex, and concave surfaces. It is important to understand contact angles when working with either hydrophobic or hydrophilic materials. By measuring the contact angle, we can find the wettability of a material. Wettability is the ability of a material to be wetted by a liquid. When a static contact angle is above 90°, the material is known to be hydrophobic and will prevent wettability. If the static contact angle is below 90°, the material is termed as hydrophilic and can be wetted. If a static contact angle is zero, or between zero and 5°, the material is considered to have maximum wettability. This means that the material has the potential to be completely wetted. A material needs to be able to be wetted during boiling. When vapor bubbles form during boiling, it is expected that a surface with higher wickability will be able to rewet the interface between the vapor bubbles and the heated surface, which enhances the critical heat flux during the boiling process.