We present atomic force microscope observations of the "effective" slippage of various nonpolar and polar liquids on alkylsilane coated glass surfaces. For small contact angle nonpolar liquids, the slip length decreases as one approaches a wetting transition. However, for large contact angle polar liquids it is found that the slip length is primarily influenced by the dipole moment, rather than the wettablility of the liquid for the surface, where the slip length decreases with increasing dipole moment (Fig. below).

Further Reading (prl, 2004)

A fundamental issue, which is poorly understood, is ``How and why molecules orient in the vicinity of a surface?``. One mechanism, which will cause surface orientation, is the interaction of a highly polar molecule with its image dipole (essentially its ``mirror image``) in the vicinity of a surface. We have investigated     this effect using ellipsometry by studying a critical binary liquid mixture, composed of nonpolar + highly polar molecules, near the mixture’s critical temperature Tc.
 
 
 

Further Reading