Surface wettability and roughness of 11 Amazonian tropical hardwoods

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the wettability and surface roughness of 11 Amazonian hardwoods. Surface roughness was evaluated by a profilometer, while wettability was measured by a goniometer. Distillated water and phenol-formaldehyde were employed to study wood wettability. A 10-μL drop was placed on the wood surface and the contact angle was measured every 2 seconds for 120 seconds. The Virola michelii and Trattinnickia burserifolia wood specimens analyzed presented different roughness values according to the surface evaluated, radial or tangential. Regarding wettability, Virola michelii wood showed the lowest water contact angle on the tangential surface, while the radial surface presented better wettability for phenol-formaldehyde. The wettability of the species studied was not clearly affected by surface roughness, which depends on wood density.

Keywords

• wettability
• contact angle
• surface roughness