A wetting agent is a surface-active molecule used to reduce the surface tension of water.
Surface tension can be measured with force tensiometer using Du Noüy ring or Wilhelmy plate. Or with optical tensiometer using the pendant drop method.
Du Noüy method utilizes the interaction of a platinum ring with the surface of the liquid.
The surface tension of water is about 72 mN/m at room temperature which is one of the highest surface tension for liquid.
Surface tension of blood is an important characteristic when protective materials are being evaluated.
A basic requirement of any coating is that it should form a uniform, defect-free surface. Surface and interfacial tensions play a key role in that.
The net force, which effectively aims to keep the liquid together, is called surface tension.
Surfactants are used in many industrial fields. Characterization of surfactants is thus important to optimize their performance and the products they are applied to. Surface and interfacial tension measurements offer versatile method to study the properties and behavior of the surfactant solution.
A term surfactant comes from the word surface active agent. At the interface, they align themselves so that the hydrophobic part is in the air and hydrophilic part is in water. This will cause the decrease in surface or interfacial tensions.
