Wetting Composition Reduces Surface Tension on Hydrophobic Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low energy surfaces, such as hydrophobic materials, pose challenges for aqueous liquids to spread and penetrate effectively, leading to inadequate wetting and coating, which is crucial in various industries like textiles, agriculture, and panel board manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A wetting composition comprising greater than 50 wt% of a C5 to C12 alcohol and a surfactant is added to aqueous liquids to decrease surface tension and improve wettability, allowing for better spreading and penetration on low energy surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If aqueous liquid is applied to low energy surface, then the liquid should spread and coat the surface, but the liquid fails to wet the surface due to high surface tension
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the surface tension parameter of the aqueous liquid by adding wetting agents (surfactants). The composition includes surfactants that reduce surface tension from typical values of 70-72 mN/m to lower values, enabling the liquid to wet low energy surfaces. This parameter change transforms the liquid's interfacial properties to achieve reliable coating on hydrophobic surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wetting agents as intermediary substances between the aqueous liquid and the low energy surface. These surfactants act as mediators that reduce the interfacial tension between the liquid and surface, facilitating wetting. The wetting agents include anionic, cationic, nonionic, or zwitterionic surfactants that bridge the hydrophobic surface and hydrophilic liquid.
2Reliability
If surfactant is added to aqueous liquid to reduce surface tension, then wettability improves, but micelle formation occurs which reduces wetting effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite wetting composition containing multiple types of surfactants (anionic, cationic, nonionic, or zwitterionic) in specific combinations. This composite approach prevents micelle formation by using surfactant mixtures with different critical micelle concentrations (CMC). The synergistic interaction between different surfactant types maintains low surface tension without reaching the CMC threshold that triggers micelle formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent carefully controls the concentration parameters of surfactants in the composition. By maintaining surfactant concentrations below the critical micelle concentration while achieving sufficient surface tension reduction, the formulation optimizes wettability without triggering micelle formation. The total surfactant content is controlled at levels that provide effective wetting but remain sub-critical for micellization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition significantly reduces the contact angle on hydrophobic surfaces, enhancing the ability of aqueous liquids to wet and coat surfaces, leading to improved coverage and penetration, and can be used in various applications including agricultural sprays and resin-based coatings.
Implementation Method 1
The wetting composition can be added to an aqueous liquid in order to decrease the surface tension of the liquid
Implementation Method 2
The contact angle can be defined using the principle of energy minimization as well as a force balance at the solid-liquid (SL), solid-vapour (SV) and liquid-vapour (LV) interfaces
Implementation Method 3
The composition significantly reduces the contact angle on hydrophobic surfaces, enhancing the ability of aqueous liquids to wet and coat surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a wetting composition comprising greater than or equal to about 50 wt % of a C5 to C12 alcohol; and a surfactant, methods for using the wetting composition and products containing the wetting composition.