Characterization of a Ceramic Powder Surface by Contact Angle Measurements and Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

The surface chemistry of a suspended particle greatly affects it behavior during electrophoretic deposition. The type and amount of surface groups determines whether the particles can be charged by interaction with the solvent. Furthermore, it is suspected that the surface chemistry plays a prominent role in the mechanisms governing the actual deposition of the particles. In the present work the surface chemistry of as-received and surface modified alumina powder is characterized by means of contact angle measurements and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform spectroscopy. The wetting is measured using a modified Washburn method which yields quantitative contact angle values. The acid-base and dispersive surface energy components are calculated from these values using the surface tension component theory. Infrared spectroscopy was used to compare the surface groups of the treated and untreated powders and confirm the trends in surface properties as calculated from the contact angles.

Ultrarobust and Biomimetic Hierarchically Macroporous Ceramic Membrane for Oil–Water Separation Templated by Emulsion-Assisted Self-Assembly Method

“…As shown in Figure S1, after adding HCl, the Al 2 O 3 powder displayed a broad −OH peak at 3062−3666 cm −1 , indicating that abundant hydroxyl species exist on the Al 2 O 3 surface. 22 Followed by ball milling of the Al 2 O 3 suspension for a whole night, propionic acid, as the surface modifier, was then added dropwise into the suspension under vigorous stirring. The peak at 3451 nm broadened for the modified powder, indicating that the modification mechanism is by hydrogen bonding based on a Lewis acid−base reaction.…”

“…The Al 2 O 3 aqueous colloidal suspension was sonicated and acidized (pH < 5) by adding HCl. As shown in Figure S1, after adding HCl, the Al 2 O 3 powder displayed a broad −OH peak at 3062–3666 cm –1 , indicating that abundant hydroxyl species exist on the Al 2 O 3 surface . Followed by ball milling of the Al 2 O 3 suspension for a whole night, propionic acid, as the surface modifier, was then added dropwise into the suspension under vigorous stirring.…”