Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

MatE 104 Experiment Guide

Solid Surface Tension Measurement Using Contact Angle Method

INTRODUCTION
Surface tension has been of great interest for surface modification of materials. It is
the force necessary to break the surface of a film of a given length. One of the
methods that can be used to measure surface tension of solid is through contact
angle (CA) measurement employing sessile drop method. The CA of liquid on a
solid surface in air is given by the Youngs equation,

s sl
cos Y =
l

The Y is the Young CA, s and l are the surface tensions of the solid and liquid,
respectively, sl is the solid-liquid interfacial tension. Mostly, l has literature values
for common liquids. Thus, l, s and sl must be correlated for the s to be known. One
of the correlations consists of dispersion and polar contribution as suggested by
Owens-Wendt-Kaelble equation,

1
d d
l s 2 +

l (1+ cos)
=
2

Where:
average contact angle of the test specimen, in degrees
l surface tension of the test liquid, in dynes/ cm
d dispersion component of the liquid and the solid, in dynes/cm
p polar component of the liquid and the solid, in dynes/cm

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this experiment, each student must be able to:
1. Measure the contact angle;
2. Derive the surface tension, polar component and dispersion component; and,
3. Differentiate the solid surface tension of the materials.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Distilled water Micropipette Thermometer Lint-free tissue
Ethanol or diiodomethane 3 types of solid with a flat surface
Camera with macro lens/function, connected to angle measurement software

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 Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
MatE 104 Experiment Guide
Solid Surface Tension Measurement Using Contact Angle Method

PROCEDURE
1. Remove loosely adhering particles at the surface of solids with soap and
water. Wipe dry. Test the solids at a standard temperature of 232oC.
2. Rinse the micropipette three times with the reagent to be used.
3. Fill the micropipette with the reagent, up to 5 microliters.
4. Place the surface in front of the camera, making sure that the surface is flat
and visible within the field of view. Focus the camera on the tip of the needle.
5. Set the camera to its highest resolution setting.
6. Mount a dark paper on the back of the surface to provide good contrast to
between the surface and the background.
7. Using two hands to steady the micropipette, deposit 5 microliters of liquid
onto the surface. Deposit two more drops on the surface spaced evenly.
8. Take a picture of the droplet within five (5) seconds from contact.
9. Measure the contact angle of the right and left side of the drops using the
provided software, and get the average. If the contact angles from the two
sides are significantly different, discard the data and repeat the test. Measure
the angles at least three times to get more accurate data.
10. Take the contact angles of the other drops of each liquid provided for each
solid.

TREATMENT OF RESULTS
1. Determine the cos value for each reagent from the contact angles
2. Compute the dispersion and polar components of the solid surface.
3. Add the dispersion and polar component values to give the total surface
tension.

DISCUSSION GUIDE
1. Discuss the significance and application of surface tension.
2. Name at least two other methods used to determine the surface tension.
Discuss their strengths and limitations.
3. Discuss the difference in the solid surface tension of the materials.

ADDITIONAL DATA
Surface Tension
Name CAS # Dispersio
Total Polar Acid Base
n
Water 7732-18-5 72.8 21.8 51.0 25.5 25.5

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 Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
MatE 104 Experiment Guide
Solid Surface Tension Measurement Using Contact Angle Method

Diiodomethan 75-11-6
50.8 50.8 0.0 0.01 0.0
e
Ethanol 64-17-5 21.4 18.8 2.6 0.02 68

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