The Applicability of a Drop Penetration Method to Measure Contact Angles on TiO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO Nanoparticles
Sabrina M. Garner,
Edgar A. O’Rear,
Sharukh Soli Khajotia,
Fernando Luis Esteban Florez
Affiliations
Sabrina M. Garner
Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 173 Felgar St., Norman, OK 73019, USA
Edgar A. O’Rear
Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, IBEST, University of Oklahoma, 100 East Boyd Street, T-301, Norman, OK 73019, USA
Sharukh Soli Khajotia
Department of Restorative Sciences, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Dentistry, Division of Dental Biomaterials 1201 N. Stonewall Ave., Oklahoma, OK 73117, USA
Fernando Luis Esteban Florez
Department of Restorative Sciences, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Dentistry, Division of Dental Biomaterials 1201 N. Stonewall Ave., Oklahoma, OK 73117, USA
In this study, six solvents (water, diiodomethane, bromonaphthalene, formamide, ethanol and ethylene glycol) were examined for three nanoparticle substrates, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide (21 nm and 100 nm), with the goal of assessing the suitability of a modified drop penetration method (DPM) for orders of magnitude smaller particles. Nanoparticles were compressed into flat discs and the solvent dropped on the surface while the image with time was recorded. Contact angles were in reasonable agreement with literature over the range of 20–80°, but failed to provide acceptable results for surface energy components. It was necessary to eliminate certain solvents and substrates not meeting the selection criteria.
