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Written by Dr Amit Pratap Singh
Reviewed By Dr Alidad Amirfazli
Reviewed: 28
This is a practical guide to Surface Science for researchers working in the Paint Industry.
In this all-new guide you’ll learn all about:
Let’s dive right in.
Paint manufacturers actively strive to determine the adhesion, durability, and appearance of their products. This relentless pursuit of quality drives them to leverage surface property measurements. By meticulously analyzing these measurements, they continuously improve paint performance and guarantee it meets customer expectations.
We use the important surface properties below to understand the behavior of Paint products and improve their quality.
Young – Laplace Method
Polynomial Method
Dynamic Contact Angle
Ideally, when we place a drop on a solid surface, a unique angle exists between the liquid and the solid surface. We can calculate the value of this ideal contact angle (the so-called Young’s contact angle) using Young’s equation. In practice, due to surface geometry, roughness, heterogeneity, contamination, and deformation, the contact angle value on a surface is not necessarily unique but falls within a range. We call this range’s upper and lower limits the advancing contact angle and the receding contact angle, respectively. The values of advancing and receding contact angles for a solid surface are also very sensitive. They can be affected by many parameters, such as temperature, humidity, homogeneity, and minute contamination of the surface and liquid. For example, the advancing and receding contact angles of a surface can differ at different locations.
Practical surfaces and coatings naturally show contact angle hysteresis, indicating a range of equilibrium values. When we measure static contact angles, we get a single value within this range. Solely relying on static measurements poses problems, like poor repeatability and incomplete surface assessment regarding adhesion, cleanliness, roughness, and homogeneity.
In practical applications, we need to understand a surface’s liquid spreading ease (advancing angle) and removal ease (receding angle), such as in painting and cleaning. Measuring advancing and receding angles offers a holistic view of liquid-solid interaction, unlike static measurements, which yield an arbitrary value within the range.
This insight is crucial for real-world surfaces with variations, roughness, and dynamics, aiding industries like cosmetics, materials science, and biotechnology in designing effective surfaces and optimizing processes.
Learn how Contact Angle measurement is done on our Tensiometer
For a more complete understanding of Contact Angle measurement, read our Contact Angle measurement: The Definitive Guide
This property measures the force that acts on the surface of a liquid, aiming to minimize its surface area.
Dynamic Surface Tension
Dynamic surface tension differs from static surface tension, which refers to the surface energy per unit area (or force acting per unit length along the edge of a liquid surface).
Static surface tension characterizes the equilibrium state of the liquid interface, while dynamic surface tension accounts for the kinetics of changes at the interface. These changes could involve the presence of surfactants, additives, or variations in temperature, pressure, and composition at the interface.
Dynamic surface tension is essential for processes that involve rapid changes at the liquid-gas or liquid-liquid interface, such as droplet and bubble formation or coalescence (change of surface area), behavior of foams, and drying of paints (change of composition, e.g., evaporation of solvent). We measure it by analyzing the shape of a hanging droplet over time.
Dynamic surface tension applies to various industries, including cosmetics, coatings, pharmaceuticals, paint, food and beverage, and industrial processes, where understanding and controlling the behavior of liquid interfaces is essential for product quality and process efficiency.
Learn how Surface Tension measurement is done on our Tensiometer
For a more complete understanding of Surface Energy measurement, read our Surface Tension measurement: The Definitive Guide
Learn how Surface Energy measurement is done on our Tensiometer
For a more complete understanding of Surface Energy measurement, read our Surface Energy measurement: The Definitive Guide
The sliding angle measures the angle at which a liquid film slides over a solid surface. It is commonly employed to assess the slip resistance of a surface.
Learn how Sliding Angle measurement is done on our Tensiometer
For a more complete understanding of Sliding Angle measurement, read our Sliding Angle Measurement: The Definitive Guide
Within the Paint industry, several case studies exemplify the advantages of conducting surface property measurements.
A paint manufacturer dives into coating metal, expecting long-lasting results. But instead, they face a nightmare: paint peeling off after mere months. The culprit? A mismatch in surface energies. Through meticulous surface tension and wettability analysis, the low surface energy of the metal stands exposed. Undeterred, the manufacturer revamps the paint formula, boosting its surface energy. The result? Paint that seamlessly bonds with the metal, forming an inseparable union.
A paint manufacturer yearns for the perfect glass paint, one that stands strong against the bane of fogging and streaking. Driven by this vision, they embark on a quest to unravel the secrets of surface properties. The shocking truth? The paint’s high surface tension was the culprit. With a spark of innovation, they skillfully modify the formula, significantly lowering its surface tension. The result? Pure magic – paint that glides effortlessly on glass, leaving no trace of fog or streaks behind.
A manufacturer envisioned a paint specifically designed for concrete, one that would withstand the elements and resist wear and tear. Driven by this vision, they embarked on a journey to uncover the secrets of surface properties.
The revelation? The concrete’s low surface energy was the hidden enemy. Undeterred, they skillfully incorporated a silane coupling agent into the formula, significantly increasing the paint’s surface energy. This ingenious move resulted in paint that not only bonded seamlessly with the concrete but also promised long-lasting durability.
If you are interested in implementing these or any other applications, please contact us.
In an industry where precision reigns supreme, where do Paint manufacturers turn to ensure their products can survive scrutiny? The answer lies in standards and guidelines: the compass that guides cosmetics manufacturers through the complex maze of quality and performance.
This standard is applicable to measure the critical surface tension of substrates, primers and other coatings. The measurements are based on the observation of wetting and dewetting of different liquids applied to the targeted surface.
It provides a procedure for the characterization of wettability of surfaces by applying the contact angle measurements. An excellent wetting has been defined by low contact angle in the range of 10 to 200.
As the title suggests this method is applicable to Polyethylene and Polypropylene Films and provides the measurement of the wetting tension of the film surface which is in contact with drops of specific test solutions in the presence of air.
Terminology and general principles. General terms, definitions and general principles for wettability can be utilized with the help of this standard.
Determination of the surface free energy of solid surfaces by measuring the contact angle: This test method specifies the measurement of contact angle to determine the surface energy of solid surfaces. This method is applicable to both substrates and coatings.
Measurement of dynamic contact angle— It provides the method for the measurement of dynamic contact angle using optical methods. The dynamic contact angle can be either the advancing angle when the volume is increasing at a liquid-solid interface or the receding angle when the volume is decreasing.
We hope this guide showed you how to apply surface science in cosmetics industry.
Now we’d like to turn it over to you:
Droplet Lab was founded in 2016 by Dr. Alidad Amirfazli, faculty member at York University, and two of his researchers, Dr. Huanchen Chen and Dr. Jesus L. Muros-Cobos.
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