Lichao Gao

Teflon is hydrophilic. Comments on definitions of hydrophobic, shear versus tensile hydrophobicity, and wettability characterization

Comments are made concerning the recent use of adjectives to describe solid surfaces that exhibit anomalously high water contact angle values. We suggest that the meaning of the word hydrophobic be resolved before it is modified, for example, to superhydrophobic and further modified, for example, to sticky superhydrophobic and before the definitions of these new words become issues of contention. The case is made that the first statement in the title is appropriate with experiments that demonstrate significant attractive interaction between liquid water and the surface of solid Teflon. Four types of experiments are described: the interaction of a silicon-supported covalently attached perfluoroalkyl monolayer (a model Teflon surface) with a sessile water drop (1) and with a thin film of water on a clean silicon wafer surface (2), the interaction of 1 and 12 microm diameter solid Teflon particles with a water droplet surface (3), and the interaction of a thin (<5 microm) Teflon film with a water droplet (4). The concepts of shear and tensile hydrophobicity are introduced, and the recommendation that two numbers, advancing and receding contact angle values, should be considered necessary data to characterize the wettability of a surface. That the words hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and their derivatives can and should only be considered qualitative or relative terms is emphasized.