Surface/Interfacial Tension

Exponential Business and Technologies Company

Bridging You and Nano

Two common methods to measure the surface tension and interfacial tension are through the Wilhelmy Plate method or the du Noüy Ring method. A high-resolution balance measures the force required to remove the probe from the liquid. Both methods provide a means to determine the interfacial tension of a liquid without knowing the density of the sample. This allows for easy measurement of changing concentrations of solutions.

Typical Experimental Results:

Interfacial Tension Results between Vegetable Oil and Changing Detergent Concentrations in Water

Soap Concentration (%)	Test 1 (mN/m)	Test 2 (mN/m)	Test 3 (mN/m)	Test 4 (mN/m)	Test 5 (mN/m)	Ave. (mN/m)	S.D. (mN/m)
2.15E-10	0.78	0.69	0.70	0.66	0.73	0.71	0.05
2.17E-08	0.68	0.66	0.60	0.68	0.70	0.66	0.04
2.19E-06	0.66	0.65	0.62	0.62	0.63	0.64	0.02
1.67E-04	0.49	0.52	0.58	0.54	0.52	0.53	0.03
3.33E-04	0.50	0.50	0.49	0.50	0.53	0.50	0.02
6.66E-04	0.41	0.49	0.43	0.42	0.44	0.44	0.03
8.33E-03	0.25	0.27	0.30	0.23	0.31	0.27	0.03
1.67E-02	0.24	0.24	0.28	0.23	0.25	0.25	0.02
3.33E-02	0.20	0.23	0.26	0.21	0.23	0.23	0.02

surface tensiometer 2

Interfacial tension between vegetable oil and changing concentrations of dish detergent in water.

surface tensiometer 5

Surface Tension Over Time for a Soap Water Solution.

Applications:

Aqueous Solutions	Dip Coatings	du Noüy Ring
Evaporation Rate	High Viscous Materials	Interfacial Tension
Interfacial Tension Over Time	Lamella Length	Liquid Density
Oil Mixtures	Printer Inks	Pycnometer
Sedimentation	Surface Tension	Surface Tension Over Time
Surfactants	Temperature Control	Wilhelmy Plate

For more information please read our application notes.

Instruments: Kyowa DyneMaster DY-700 Surface Tensiometer

dy700

Key Specifications:

Measurement Range	0 – 100 mN/m
Display Resolution	0.01 mN/m
Repeatability	0.02 mN/m
Sample Volume	20 mL – Petri Dish50 mL - Vessel
Stage Movement Range	50 mm
Stage Movement Speed	0.002 – 50 mm/s