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This table compares critical surface tension to contact angle with water for a variety of polymers. It can be sorted by column — just click on the column header as desired to re-order this printable table. Click on any footnote for additional information.

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Critical Surface Tension and Contact Angle with Water for Various Polymers

ID #(1)
ascendingdescending
Polymer Name(2)
ascendingdescending
CAS #(3)
ascendingdescending
γS(4)
ascendingdescending
Contact Angle(5)
ascendingdescending
34 Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) 25213-24-5 37 51
33 Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) 9003-20-7 35.3 60.6
5 Nylon 6 (polycaprolactum, aramid 6) 25038-54-4 43.9 62.6
21 Polyethylene oxide (PEO, PEG, polyethylene glycol) 25322-68-3 43 63
6 Nylon 6,6 32131-17-2 42.2 68.3
7 Nylon 7,7 - 43 70
30 Polysulfone (PSU) 25135-51-7 42.1 70.5
25 Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic, plexiglas) 9011-14-7 37.5 70.9
12 Nylon 12 24937-16-4 37.1 72.4
22 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 25038-59-9 39 72.5
2 Epoxies - 44.5 76.3
26 Polyoxymethylene (POM, polyacetal, polymethylene oxide) 24969-26-4 37 76.8
37 Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC, Saran) 9002-85-1 40.2 80
27 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) 26125-40-6 38 80.3
1 Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) 9003-56-9 38.5 80.9
11 Nylon 11 25587-80-8 35.6 82
17 Polycarbonate (PC) 24936-68-3 44 82
36 Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) 24981-14-4 32.7 84.5
35 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 9002-86-2 37.9 85.6
8 Nylon 8,8 - 34 86
9 Nylon 9,9 - 34 86
29 Polystyrene (PS) 9003-53-6 34 87.4
38 Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) 24937-79-9 31.6 89
15 Poly n-butyl methacrylate (PnBMA) 25608-33-7 29.8 91
32 Polytrifluoroethylene 24980-67-4 26.5 92
10 Nylon 10,10 - 32 94
14 Polybutadiene 9003-17-2 29.3 96
20 Polyethylene (PE) 9002-88-4 31.6 96
18 Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) 9002-83-9 30.8 99.3
28 Polypropylene (PP) (a) 30.5 102.1
19 Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) 9016-00-6 20.1 107.2
16 Poly t-butyl methacrylate (PtBMA) 25189-00-9 18.1 108.1
3 Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) 25067-11-2 19.1 108.5
4 Hexatriacontane 630-06-8 20.6 108.5
13 Paraffin 8002-74-2 24.8 108.9
31 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) 9002-84-0 19.4 109.2
23 Poly(hexafluoropropylene) - 16.9 112
24 Polyisobutylene (PIB, butyl rubber) 9003-27-4 27 112.1

(1) ID numbers identify polymer data points in critical surface tension vs. contact angle chart.

(2) Names which are most widely used to describe the material or family of materials (e.g., polyurethanes and epoxies) at hand are preferred here. Commonly used acronyms and synonyms are also shown. To top of page

(3) CAS (Chemical Abstract Series) numbers are shown where available. In a number of instances, more than one CAS number is assigned to a given polymer — in some cases the details and nuances of these divergences are not at all clear. We have tried to reference the CAS number which appears to have the widest use with reference to the solid state properties of the given polymer . To top of page

(4) Critical surface tension in mJ/m2 (equivalent to dynes/cm), generally determined by the Zisman method (regression of the cosine of the contact angle), or by the wetting tension method (using solutions of 2-ethoxyethanol and formamide, per ASTM Std. D-2578). To top of page

(5) Contact angle with water, in degrees. The arithmetic mean of all equilibrium (Young's) and advancing contact angle measurements is shown. Generally, the equilibrium angle is similar to, but slightly lower than, the advancing angle; the balance of equilibrium vs. advancing contact angles from which this summary is drawn may have some effect on the average as shown for some polymers. To top of page

Contact Angle with Water vs. Critical Surface Tension for Various Polymers

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