AN IMPROVED PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING THE WORK OF ADHESION FOR POLYMER-SOLID CONTACT

Force-balance experiments in conjunction with the Johnson-Kendall-Robe rts (JKR) theory have been used to determine the work of adhesion betw een solid systems. It has been shown that deficiencies in understandin g the deformation behavior can lead to erroneous results. A modified p rocedure for determining the work of adhesion by force-balance experim ents and JKR theory using normal displacement behavior has been introd uced to address these deficiencies. This procedure involves improved e xperimental and data analysis protocols and has been applied to give m ore precise work of adhesion values for PDMS poly(dimethylsiloxane)-PD MS, PDMS-F(fluorinated silicon) and PDMS-SI (silicon) systems. The wor k of adhesion determinations are consistently less than those estimate d by contact angle measurements.