Dispersive Component Of Surface Energy Research Articles

Evaluation of Frictional Influence and Thermal Analysis of Flexible Paper‐Based Materials Used in the Vertical Form–Fill–Seal Process: An Experimental Study

ABSTRACTThis study evaluated the frictional behaviour of flexible polymer‐coated and dispersion‐coated materials used in vertical form–fill–seal (VFFS) machines. A laboratory‐scale friction measurement device was developed to investigate the relationship between different surface topographies, roughness and frictional properties. Furthermore, surface roughness, contact angle and surface energy of the material were analysed and a microscopic analysis was performed to further understand the effect of material properties on friction. Thermal camera analysis was performed to measure the temperature changes within the material during the film‐transport stage of the VFFS machine. The friction measurement results indicated that the sliding direction did not affect the static and kinetic coefficients of friction. The significant influence of friction on the surface topography of the plate (forming shoulder and tube) was particularly evident. Some materials experienced the stick–slip phenomenon during sliding, depending on the surface type. Teflon tape, which is commonly used in the forming tubes of VFFS machines, exhibited the lowest coefficient of friction. Thermal camera analysis revealed that polymer‐coated paper materials generated more heat than dispersion‐coated papers during VFFS trials and thermoplastic films generated the least heat. No clear relationship between the surface roughness of the paper, fibre orientation, surface energy and friction coefficient was noted. Furthermore, paper‐based materials exhibited a higher coefficient of friction, which is possibly related to the dispersion components of surface energy. The findings of this study provide additional knowledge for designing the forming tube, shoulder geometry and surface plate to minimize the occurrence of defects, such as wrinkles, in paper‐based packages.

Polar and dispersive surface tension components of water-guanidinium chloride (Gdmcl) binary mixtures

Interfacial interaction of water with guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) is crucial to understanding protein solubility and denaturing mechanism. However, molecularly resolved parameters such as polar and dispersive surface energy components of water-GdmCl mixtures remain unknown. Here, we developed a method to determine water-GdmCl mixture surface tension and its components using four different substrates including polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), silicone, polyethylene, and polystyrene. Results show all six combinations, PDMS-silicone, PDMS-polystyrene, PDMS-polyethylene, silicone-polyethylene, silicone-polystyrene, and polyethylene-polystyrene can estimate similar trend of total surface tension, polar and dispersive components with respect to salt concentration changes. Silicone-polyethylene pairs yield the most accurate surface tension compared to others because silicone and polyethylene have large distinctive surface energy differences. Results show that polar components increase from 51 mJ/m2 to 64 mJ/m2 when salt concentration increases; dispersive components decrease from 21 mJ/m2 to 15 mJ/m2 when salt concentration increases. Total surface tension increases from 72.8 mJ/m2 to 78.1 mJ/m2 when GdmCl increases from 0% to 40 wt%. The results of this study can elucidate molecular interaction between water and GdmCl.

Regeneration of interfacial bonding force of waste carbon fibers by light: Process demonstration and atomic level analysis

Although interest in recycling carbon fibers is rapidly growing, practical applications of recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) are limited owing to their poor wettability and adhesion. Surface modification of CFs was achieved through intense pulsed light (IPL) irradiation, which functionalizes surface of rCFs. Surface energy, chemical composition, morphology, and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of rCFs before and after IPL irradiation were investigated. The rCF IPL-irradiated at 1,200V improved both polar and dispersive components of surface energy, and the IFSS significantly increased by 2.93 times in relation to that of the pristine rCF and reached 95% of that of high-grade commercial CFs. We proposed a mechanism by which oxygen functional groups on the rCF surface enhance the molecular bonding force with HDPE, and the model was validated from molecular dynamics simulations. IPL irradiation is a rapid and effective surface treatment method that can be employed for the manufacture of rCF-reinforced composites.

Metal Atom Desorption from Organofluorine Surfaces: What Factors Govern Desorption?

AbstractMetal pattern formation using vacuum evaporation is an essential technology in various fields such as electronics, photonics, and industrial mass production. An application of selective metal deposition, in which a metal pattern can be prepared by maskless vacuum evaporation, based on the phenomenon of metal atom desorption from the organic surface, is expected as a promising method. However, the surface physical properties that govern the desorption of metals have not been fully clarified. In this study, the metal desorption phenomenon in various organofluorine films with a low surface energy is investigated in detail, and the factors governing the desorption are clarified. It is revealed that metal desorption requires not a low total surface energy but rather the London dispersion component of surface energy as small as 20 mJ m−2, and, moreover, that the surface should have fluidity or high molecular mobility. As typical materials having such physical properties, commercially available mold release agents show efficient desorption with respect to many metals having a low intrinsic vapor pressure such as Au, Ag, Cr, and In. Furthermore, 3D integrated deposition is performed as a demonstration of efficient metal desorption. This highly efficient metal desorption phenomenon is applicable to various fields including electronics.

Cotton fabrics modified with tannic acid/long-chain alkylamine grafting for oil/water separation

BackgroundsCotton fabrics were modified on surface wettability for efficient oil/water separation. The modification adopted in previous literature are commonly complicated in steps, expensive in chemicals applied, and not environmentally begien in solvents used. ExperimentsThis article applied a novel one-step modification protocol to modified cotton fabrics using tannic acid (TA) grafted via Michael addition/Schiff base reactions with long-chain alkylamines, including 1-tetradecylamine (TDA), 1-hexadecylamine (HDA), and 1-octadecylamine (ODA) with 14, 16 and 18 methyl groups, respectively, were applied in this study for cotton fabrics modification. The TA, an inexpensive natural polyphenol, was adopted for providing excess catechol groups for linking the cotton surface and the alkylamines. The grafting reactions via Michael addition/Schiff base reaction were performed at room temperature and pH 8.5 with catalysts CuSO4/H2O2 for significantly reducing the reaction time needed. ResultsThe chemical analysis confirmed the modification of the cotton fabrics to possess hydrophobic surface, with contact angles for water droplets on the modified surface as 133.3o, 136.0o and 142.9° for TA-TDA, TA-HDA, and TA-ODA cotton fabrics, respectively; and diiodinemethane droplets on the modified surface being 56.0o, 58.8o and 59.3o, respectively. The modified cotton surface has intermediate dispersive component of surface energy (29.0–31.2 mJ/m2) and low polar component (4.2–6.2 mJ/m2), yielding high affinity to oil but low affinity to water. Parametric study revealed that the pH value and reaction time are the most important parameters for the alkylamine grafting reactions, while the reduction of catalyst amount used but still with sufficient modification on cotton fabrics can be achieved. The oil absorption tests with cotton fabrics contacting hexane (top)-water (bottom) layers revealed high hexane adsorption capacity: 0.96, 1.22, 1.25 g hexane/g cotton for TA-TDA, TA-HAD and TA-ODA cotton fabrics, respectively. The absorption tests with cotton fabrics contacting water first for 30 s then hexane for another 30 s had much lower absorption capability of hexane: 0.52, 0.85, 0.87 g hexane/g cotton for TA-TDA, TA-HAD and TA-ODA cotton fabrics, respectively, since water would penetrate the major pores for inhibiting further oil absorption.

Quantitative Analysis of Solubility Parameters and Surface Properties of Larch Bark Proanthocyanidins.

Quantitative characterization of the solubility parameters and surface properties of larch bark proanthocyanidins will lay the foundation for quantitative studies of the interfacial interactions of proanthocyanidin/polymer composites and will improve the compatibility of components, with important practical and scientific significance. Here, the solubility parameters of highly polymerized larch polymeric proanthocyanidins (LPPCs) and less highly polymerized larch oligomeric proanthocyanidins (LOPCs) were determined experimentally by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). These values were then compared with the solubility parameters obtained using molecular dynamics simulations. The experimentally measured solubility parameters of LPPCs and LOPCs (20.5 and 22.09 (J/m−3)0.5, respectively) were in good agreement with the solubility parameters determined by molecular dynamics simulations (20.57 and 22.35 (J/m−3)0.5, respectively. IGC was also used to experimentally determine the total surface energy, which includes the dispersive component of surface energy and the specific component of surface energy , together with the surface acidity and basicity parameters of LPPCs and LOPCs at different temperatures. The surface properties of proanthocyanidins can be quickly and accurately evaluated by IGC, and both LPPCs and LOPCs were shown to be amphoteric materials. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the use of larch bark proanthocyanidins, which are non-toxic, renewable, and have good ultraviolet resistance, in the field of blending composites. The study also provides a reference for other studies on the interfacial interactions of wood fiber polymer composites.

Surface energy characterization of different particulate silica gels at infinite dilution

Porous silica gels are the well-established adsorbent materials used in adsorption cooling, dehumidification, gas separation, and desalination applications. To understand the adsorption characteristics, morphological characterization of the adsorbent is widely used. However, the surface activities of the adsorbent material, which are the most influential parameters for the adsorption process, are still unknown. To determine the surface activities, surface energy analysis has been performed for four silica gel particulates (RD granular silica gel, Chromatorex, Home silica gel, and B-type silica gel) using inverse gas chromatography technique. Experiments have been conducted at infinite dilution (0.008 to 0.1 coverage) with a fixed flowrate (30 sccm) of helium gas. The results showed that RD granular silica gel has the highest value of total surface energy for all the coverages. A correlation between the dispersive component of surface energy and morphological characteristics (variation with specific surface area and pore size distribution) has been discussed. Comparative studies on surface energy components of the studied silica gels and activated carbons have also been presented, which will contribute to fulfilling the knowledge gap between morphological characterization and adsorption phenomenon.

Determination of the Surface Thermodynamic Characteristics of Phthalate Plasticizers by Inverse Gas Chromatography

The dispersive component of surface energy (γsd) and Lewis surface acid–base parameters (Ka, Kb) for phthalate plasticizers, including dimethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phth...

Dielectric Effect: Dielectric Selection for Solution‐Processed High‐Mobility TIPS‐Pentacene Microwire Field‐Effect Transistors (Adv. Mater. Interfaces 13/2019)

By selecting a preferred solvent to ensure good wettability of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) solution on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic dielectrics, the highly ordered TIPS-pentacene microwire arrays are successfully obtained. The highest mobility of TIPS-pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) on divinyltetramethyldisiloxane-bis(benzocyclobutene) (BCB)/SiO2 is ascribed to the matching of both the polar and dispersive components of surface energy between dielectric and semiconductor. More details can be found in article number 1801984 by Yanhong Tong, Qingxin Tang, and co-workers.

Synthesis, characterization, and possible application as sorbents of new low-cost aluminosilicate materials with different Si/Al ratios

AbstractThis study presents the synthesis of new aluminosilicate (Al-MSU) materials with different Si/Al ratios. Two substrates, Aerosil 200 V and silicon dioxide, were used as a silicon source for the synthesis. Following synthesis, the surface morphology and pore sizes of the new mesoporous materials were determined by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The Si/Al ratio was estimated using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The surface properties of the studied aluminosilicates were characterized by means of inverse gas chromatography. The surface area, pore diameters, dispersive component of surface energy, and basic/acidic parameters were found to depend on the Si/Al ratio; a higher Si/Al ratio led to increased surface area of the materials, but their average pore diameter decreased and a change in sorptive properties was observed. The adsorption properties of the examined materials were evaluated by solid-phase extraction. The selected hydrocarbons were found to be adsorbed on the aluminosilicates and were desorbed using elution solvent.

Dielectric Selection for Solution‐Processed High‐Mobility TIPS‐Pentacene Microwire Field‐Effect Transistors

AbstractThe dielectric effect on the mobility of the solution‐processed organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) remains unknown. A major challenge is that most of the solution‐processed OFETs are obtained on hydrophilic dielectrics, while most of the commonly used dielectrics for high‐mobility OFETs are hydrophobic. In this work, by selecting a preferred solvent to ensure the good wettability of 6,13‐bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)‐pentacene (TIPS‐pentacene) solution on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic dielectrics, the highly ordered TIPS‐pentacene single‐crystal microwire arrays are in situ grown on the hydrophobic and hydrophilic dielectrics via a solution‐processed method, and the dielectric effect on the mobility of the solution‐processed TIPS‐pentacene OFETs is investigated. The highest mobility on the divinyltetramethyldisiloxane‐bis(benzocyclobutene) (BCB)/SiO2 dielectric is ascribed to the matching of both the polar and dispersive components of surface energy between dielectric and semiconductor. This work powerfully confirms the direct effect of the dielectric properties on mobility, and provides a new method to select the optimized dielectric for solution‐processed high‐mobility OFETs.

Nitrogen plasma surface treatment for improving polar ink adhesion on micro/nanofibrillated cellulose films

We find that nitrogen plasma treatment of micro/nanofibrillated cellulose films increases wettability of the surface by both liquid polar water and nonpolar hexadecane. The increased wetting effect is more pronounced in the case of polar liquid, favouring the use of plasma treated micro/nanofibrillated cellulose films as substrates for a range of inkjet printing including organic-based polar-solvent inks. The films were formed from aqueous suspensions of progressively enzymatic pretreated wood-free cellulose fibres, resulting in increased removal of amorphous species producing novel nanocellulose surfaces displaying increasing crystallinity. The mechanical properties of each film are shown to be highly dependent on the enzymatic pretreatment time. The change in surface chemistry arising from exposure to nitrogen plasma is revealed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. That both polar and dispersive surface energy components become increased, as measured by contact angle, is also linked to an increase in surface roughness. The change in surface free energy is exemplified to favour the trapping of photovoltaic inks.

Physicochemical surface properties of bacterial cellulose/polymethacrylate nanocomposites: an approach by inverse gas chromatography

Nanocomposites of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) and bacterial cellulose (BC), or poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) and BC were produced via the in-situ polymerization of methacrylic monomers, inside the BC 3D network. The nanocomposites surface properties were evaluated by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). The dispersive component of surface energy (γsd) varied between 35.64 - 83.05 mJ m−2 at 25 °C. The surface of the different nanocomposites has a predominant basic character (Kb/Ka = 4.20-4.31). Higher specific interactions with polar probes were found for the nanocomposite bearing pendant epoxide groups, that apart from the low surface area (SBET = 0.83 m2 g−1) and monolayer capacity (nm = 2.18 μmol g−1), exhibits a high value of γsd (88.19 mJ m−2 at 20 °C). These results confirm the potential of IGC to differentiate between nanocomposites with different surface functional groups and to predict their potential interactions with living tissues, body fluids and other materials.

Controlled electrochemical functionalization of CNT fibers: Structure-chemistry relations and application in current collector-free all-solid supercapacitors

Chemical functionalization of nanocarbons is an important strategy to produce electrochemical systems with higher energy/power density by generating surface functional groups with additional faradaic contribution, by increasing their surface area and correspondent capacitive contribution and by improving compatibility with aqueous electrolytes and other active materials, such as pseudocapacitive metal-oxides. Here we present an electrochemical method to simultaneously swell and functionalize large electrodes consisting of fabrics of macroscopic fibers of carbon nanotubes that renders the material hydrophilic and produces a substantial increase of specific capacitance and energy density in aqueous electrolytes. Through in-depth characterization of the carbon nanotube fibres (CNTF) by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectrocn spectroscopy (XPS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) we identify various contributions to such improvements, including surface oxidation, tubular unzipping, debundling and inter-bundle swelling. Changes in hydrophilicity of functionalized CNTF are determined by analyzing the dynamics of spreading of polar and nonpolar liquids in the electrodes. The extracted contact angles and polar and dispersive surface energy components for different treatment conditions are in agreement with changes in dipole-moment obtained by XPS. Finally, functionalized CNTF electrodes were employed in current collector-free solid flexible supercapacitors, which show enhanced electrochemical properties compared to as-produced hydrophobic ones.

Direct Effect of Dielectric Surface Energy on Carrier Transport in Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

The understanding of the characteristics of gate dielectric that leads to optimized carrier transport remains controversial, and the conventional studies applied organic semiconductor thin films, which introduces the effect of dielectric on the growth of the deposited semiconductor thin films and hence only can explore the indirect effects. Here, we introduce pregrown organic single crystals to eliminate the indirect effect (semiconductor growth) in the conventional studies and to undertake an investigation of the direct effect of dielectric on carrier transport. It is shown that the matching of the polar and dispersive components of surface energy between semiconductor and dielectric is favorable for higher mobility. This new empirical finding may show the direct relationship between dielectric and carrier transport for the optimized mobility of organic field-effect transistors and hence show a promising potential for the development of next-generation high-performance organic electronic devices.

Immunomodulatory Properties of Composite Materials Based on Polylactide and Hydroxyapatite

In the present study composites based on polylactide and hydroxyapatite with the content of components 50:50 and 75:25 were investigated. Components were mixed at 40°C, which was followed by the sonication procedures and its precipitation in ethanol. The analysis of the following composite materials revealed that their chemicalcrystallographic characteristics of individual components remained intact after varying its dispersion and material crystallinity degree. Composite material of the ratio 75:25 were characterized by the lowest degree of crystallinity - 20.5% and the average crystallite size up to 28.8 nm showed an increased roughness and dispersive component of surface energy. In comparison to polylactide, the composite has a high capacity for osseointegration. In the paper, special attention is given to the immunomodulatory properties of composite materials. Assessment of the immune system cells showed that the macrophages are most viable in the presence of pure polylactide and composite 75/25. Intensive secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophage cultures in vitro was not found at that.

Quantitative characterization of plasma treated PDMS microfluidic substrates by inverse gas chromatography

Abstract The effect of air plasma exposure time on the surface energies and acid-base characteristics of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) particles was studied. Polymerized PDMS powder was radio frequency induced air plasma irradiated for 2–10 s with the power of 500 W. The efficiency of the plasma treatments was investigated by a new generation inverse gas chromatograph, a surface energy analyzer. The dispersive component of surface energy was determined by the Dorris-Gray method describing the van der Waals interactions, while the specific component of surface energy expressed the surface ability for Lewis acid-base interactions. It was demonstrated that the air plasma treatment did not affect the dispersive and acidic parts of the surface energy and the change of surface hydrophilicity was caused by the raise of the electron-donor ability of the PDMS surface, characterized by van Oss-Good-Chaudhury’s base number. The optimal plasma treatment time was found to be 5 s. Analysis of the specific surface energy and acid-base characteristics with respect to exposure time showed that partial to complete hydrophobic recovery occurred within 38 h.

Multivariate analysis of attachment of biofouling organisms in response to material surface characteristics

Multivariate analyses were used to investigate the influence of selected surface properties (Owens-Wendt surface energy and its dispersive and polar components, static water contact angle, conceptual sign of the surface charge, zeta potentials) on the attachment patterns of five biofouling organisms (Amphibalanus amphitrite, Amphibalanus improvisus, Bugula neritina, Ulva linza, and Navicula incerta) to better understand what surface properties drive attachment across multiple fouling organisms. A library of ten xerogel coatings and a glass standard provided a range of values for the selected surface properties to compare to biofouling attachment patterns. Results from the surface characterization and biological assays were analyzed separately and in combination using multivariate statistical methods. Principal coordinate analysis of the surface property characterization and the biological assays resulted in different groupings of the xerogel coatings. In particular, the biofouling organisms were able to distinguish four coatings that were not distinguishable by the surface properties of this study. The authors used canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) to identify surface properties governing attachment across all five biofouling species. The CAP pointed to surface energy and surface charge as important drivers of patterns in biological attachment, but also suggested that differentiation of the surfaces was influenced to a comparable or greater extent by the dispersive component of surface energy.

Wettability of Complex Fluids and Surfactant Capped Nanoparticle-Induced Quasi-Universal Wetting Behavior.

Even though there are quite large studies on wettability of aqueous surfactants and a few studies on effects of nanoparticles on wettability of colloids, to the best of authors' knowledge, there is no study reported on the combined effect of surfactant and nanoparticles in altering the wettability. The present study, for the first time, reports an extensive experimental and theoretical study on the combined effect of surfactants and nanoparticles on the wettability of complex fluids such as nanocolloids on different substrates, ranging from hydrophilic with a predominantly polar surface energy component (silicon wafer and glass) to near hydrophobic range with a predominantly dispersive component of surface energy (aluminum and copper substrates). Systematically planned experiments are carried out to segregate the contributing effects of surfactants, particles, and combined particle and surfactants in modulating the wettability. The mechanisms and the governing parameters behind the interactions of nanocolloids alone and of surfactant capped nanocolloids with different surfaces are found to be grossly different. The article, for the first time, also analyzes the interplay of the nature of surfaces, surfactant and particle concentrations on contact angle, and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) of particle and surfactant impregnated colloidal suspensions. In the case of nanoparticle suspensions, the contact angle is observed to decrease for the hydrophobic system and increase for the hydrophilic systems considered. On the contrary, the combined particle and surfactant colloidal system shows a quasi-unique wetting behavior of decreasing contact angle with particle concentration on all substrates. Also interestingly, the combined particle surfactant system at all particle concentrations shows a wetting angle much lower than that of the only-surfactant case at the same surfactant concentration. Such counterintuitive observations have been explained based on the near-surface interactivity of the particle, fluid, and surfactant molecules based on effective slip length considerations. The CAH analyses of colloidal suspensions at varying surfactant and particle concentrations reveal in-depth physical insight into contact line pinning, and a unique novel relationship is established between the contact angle and differential energy for distorting the instantaneous contact angle for a pinned sessile droplet. A detailed theoretical analysis of the governing parameters influencing the wettability has been presented invoking the principles of DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek), surface energy and interaction parameters influencing at the molecular scale, and the theoretical framework is found to support the experimental observations.

Hybrid magnetic scaffolds: The role of scaffolds charge on the cell proliferation and Ca2+ ions permeation

Magnetic scaffolds with different charge densities were prepared using magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) and xanthan gum (XG), a negatively charged polysaccharide, or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), an uncharged cellulose ether. XG chains were crosslinked with citric acid (cit), a triprotic acid, whereas HPMC chains were crosslinked either with cit or with oxalic acid (oxa), a diprotic acid. The scaffolds XG-cit, HPMC-cit and HPMC-oxa were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, contact angle and zeta-potential measurements. In addition, the flux of Ca2+ ions through the scaffolds was monitored by using a potentiometric microsensor. The adhesion and proliferation of murine fibroblasts (NIH/3T3) on XG-cit, XG-cit-MNP, HPMC-cit, HPMC-cit-MNP, HPMC-oxa and HPMC-oxa-MNP were evaluated by MTT assay. The magnetic scaffolds presented low coercivity (<25Oe). The surface energy values determined for all scaffolds were similar, ranging from 43mJm−2 to 46mJm−2. However, the polar component decreased after MNP incorporation and the dispersive component of surface energy increased in average 1mJm−2 after MNP incorporation. The permeation of Ca2+ ions through XG-cit-MNP was significantly higher in comparison with that on XG-cit and HPMC-cit scaffolds, but through HPMC-cit-MNP, HPMC-oxa and HPMC-oxa-MNP scaffolds it was negligible within the timescale of the experiment. The adhesion and proliferation of fibroblasts on the scaffolds followed the trend: XG-cit-MNP>XG-cit>HPMC-cit, HPMC-cit-MNP, HPMC-oxa, HPMC-oxa-MNP. A model was proposed to explain the cell behavior stimulated by the scaffold charge, MNP and Ca2+ ions permeation.