Characterization of the surface properties of cellulosic fibers in fibrous and ground forms by IGC and contact angle measurements

Surface properties of fibrous and ground cotton and linen were investigated by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and the contact angle with different liquids was also measured on fabrics composed of both fibers. Results proved that dispersion component of surface tension (γsd) determined by IGC depends not only on the surface energy, but also on several factors influencing the adsorbability of probe molecules on the cellulosic substrates. For cotton samples, the trapping of n-alkanes among waxy molecules in the outer layer of fibers can be presumed. This effect results in larger γsd for cotton fibers than for linen in spite of the higher wettability of the linen fabrics. Besides the surface energy and trapping effects, the grinding also influences the γsd values. Specific enthalpy of adsorption (ΔHAab) of polar probes could be determined on all linen samples, but only on the ground cotton sample. Lewis acid-base character calculated for linen and ground cotton samples depends on the same effects as the γsd does. The similar ΔHAab values of chloroform (acidic) and THF (basic) measured on each of the samples support the conclusion that the surface character is amphoteric, which is also proved by the high ΔHAab values of the amphoteric ethyl acetate and acetone probes