Critical Surface Tension and Contact Angle with Water for Various Polymers

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

(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