The wettability of polytetrafluoroethylene and polymethylmethacrylate by aqueous solutions of Triton X-100 and propanol mixtures

Measurements of advancing contact angles (θ) were carried out for aqueous solutions of Triton X-100 (TX-100) and propanol mixtures at constant TX-100 concentration equal to 1 × 10−7, 1 × 10−6, 1 × 10−5, 1 × 10−4, 6 × 10−4 and 1 × 10−3 M, respectively, on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polymethyhmethacrylate (PMMA). Using obtained results the changes of cosθ and adhesional tension against surface tension of all series of aqueous solutions of TX-100 and propanol mixtures (γLV) for PTFE and PMMA surfaces were shown. On the basis of these changes it was deduced that adsorption of TX-100 and propanol mixtures at PTFE-solution and solution-air interfaces is the same but the adsorption of TX-100 and propanol mixtures at solution-air interface is considerably higher than at PMMA-solution one. In the case of PTFE this conclusion was confirmed by relationship between cosθ and the reciprocal of the surface tension of solution. Extrapolation of the relationships between cosθ and/or adhesional tension and the surface tension of solutions to the points corresponding to the cosθ = 1 and adhsional tension equal to the surface tension of solution, the critical surface tension of PTFE and PMMA wetting was determined. The average values of critical surface tension of wetting determined from these relationships for PTFE are lying in the range of its surface tension values determined from contact angles of different kinds of liquids, which can be find in the literature, but for PMMA are considerably lower than the surface tension. The double value of the critical surface tension of PTFE wetting is equal to adhesion work of the solution to its surface and for PMMA there is not any correlation between these magnitudes. Using the measured values of the contact angles and Young equation the PTFE(PMMA)-aqueous solution interfacial tension was determined. The interfacial tension values of PTFE-aqueous solution were also calculated from the Fainerman and Miller equation in which the correcting parameter of nonideality of the surface monolayer was introduced and compared to those obtained from Young equation. From this comparison it results that the changes of PTFE-solution interface tension as a function of propanol concentration can be described by the Fainerman and Miller equation.