Surface Energy and Adhesion of Powders and Fibers
Determination of the total surface energy of a solid can give useful indications of its overall activity. Work of cohesion and adhesion is a property proportional to surface energy. Evaluating cohesive forces at play within a powder sample can give a measure of how well powders can flow and their likelihood to aggregate. Evaluating adhesive forces in a powder blend can quantify blending performance and give an indication of the powder’s content uniformity.
How processable a fiber and fibrous materials are, can be heavily dependent on cohesive forces and fiction between fibers. Inter-fiber friction and cohesion causes degradation and encourages heat buildup meaning fiber finishing agents and coatings are becoming increasingly common. Understanding forces between fibers is important in the formulation of new materials and processing fibers in an effort to reuse and recycle them.
Fillers and composites
In the past, fillers were used to reduce the price of finished products; nowadays, fillers are used to impart new properties to materials, yielding what is known as a composite. When manufacturing these types of materials, it is important to know if the individual components are compatible. For this purpose, Inverse Gas Chromatography is a valuable tool. The surface energy of solid materials is measured, and the energetic properties of their surfaces are rapidly obtained. The iGC Surface Energy Analyzer (SEA) determines the surface free energy of solids via the adsorption of organic vapors with known properties.
Notes:
Application Note 226: Surface Energy Heterogeneity Profiles by iGC Surface Energy | Request a copy
Pharmaceuticals
Surface energy is an imperative parameter for the characterization of surface properties in pharmaceutical compounds. It can provide a demonstrative picture of the energetic situation on the surface and shows a strong dependency of various macroscopic properties. Inverse Gas Chromatography is an ideal technique for surface characterization. iGC-SEA allows a fast and accurate determination of the surface energy, either the dispersive component or the interaction with a polar probe.
Notes:
Application Note 202: Determination of the dispersive surface energy of Paracetamol by pulse inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution | Request a copy
Fibers
Characterizing the surface properties of different fibers can be an essential part of research and development in the fiber industry. The most common fiber materials are carbon and glass fibers. Glass fibers, for example, are a known industrial product and are used in sound and heat-insulation materials. Another key application is reinforcement for composites. In this application, the use of common adsorption techniques is limited due to the fibers having a small surface area. iGC-SEA however, provides the required sensitivity to study surface adsorption and other physico-chemical properties.
Notes:
Application Note 216: Characterisation of Surface Properties of Glass Fibres by Inverse Gas Chromatography | Request a copy
Minerals and Composites
The surface energy of minerals can provide valuable information in the geology and mining field because certain mineral separation methods depend on the surface energies of raw materials, such as flotation. The surface energy can also assess the interaction between mineral aggregates and binders in compounds like road asphalt. The quality of road asphalt depends strongly on the affinity of the mineral aggregates to the bitumen binder. This affinity is directly related to the surface energetics of the individual components. Using our Dynamic Vapor Sorption (DVS) instrument, surface energies in minerals like asphalt are obtained accurately and reliably.
Notes:
Application Note 43: Determination of Surface Energetics of Mineral Aggregates by Dynamic Vapor Sorption | Request a copy
