Wetting and adsorption properties of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and Triton X-100 mixture with short-chain alcohol in polymer–solution–air system

Abstract

Measurements of the contact angle of the aqueous solutions of Triton X-100 (TX-100) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) mixture with methanol or propanol on the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon-6 surfaces were made. On the basis of the obtained results, the Gibbs surface excess concentration of alcohol and TX-100 + CTAB mixture at the polymer–solution and polymer–air interfaces was calculated and compared to that at the solution–air one. The standard Gibbs free energy of alcohol adsorption was determined by different methods. For TX-100 and CTAB mixture, this energy was calculated using the values of critical micelle concentration (CMC) of that mixture, the surface tension and contact angle of aqueous solution of alcohol as well as the surface tension and contact angle of the aqueous solution of TX-100 and CTAB mixture with alcohol at CMC. The polymer–solution interfacial tension, the adhesion tension, and the adhesion work of the studied solutions to the polymer surface were also determined. From the obtained data, it results that the studied solutions can wet completely only the nylon-6 surface and that below alcohol critical aggregation concentration the adsorption of surfactants and alcohols at the polymer–water and water–air interfaces is similar for PTFE and different for nylon-6.