Surface Configuration Change When Polymer is Immersed in Water

SURFACE CONFIGURATION CHANGE WHEN POLYMER IS IMMERSED IN WATER 

In the case of perfluorocarbon polymers, y is of the order of 19dyne/cm and y 0 because the surface configuration is not influenced by the contacting medium (air or vacuum). The value of y for water is of the order of 70dyne/cm. 

The interfacial tension, therefore, is of the order of 51 dyne/cm. The increase of ys can be achieved either by moving polar moieties toward the top surface, in the case Teflon PFA in water, or moving hydrophobic moieties into the deeper section of the surface state, in the case of CF4 plasma-treated polymers. 

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