Free Energy Balance of Polyamide, Polyester and Polypropylene Surfaces

The wettability of a solid surface is often characterized by the contact angle of liquid on the solid surface. The wettability is pertinent to surface energy, which is an important parameter. The wettability can be affected, for example, by the roughness of the solid surface. In our work textiles are used as macroscopic roughness surfaces, and smooth plate surfaces are used as well to determine surface energies. For the calculation of surface energies it is fundamental to know the contact angle. The advancing and receding contact angles are measured, and the relation between the hysteresis and surface energy is monitored.