A QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR EVALUATING THE HYDROPHILICITY OF SULFONATEDPOLYPROPYLENE MESH SHEETS

The surface of polypropylene mesh sheets was sulfonated by heating in liquid H2SO4. Diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrosc opy confirmed that SO3H groups are immobilized on the surface and thei r amount increases with increasing treatment lime. The hydrophilicity of the samples was examined by following the time-dependence of the up take weight of H2O (W-L) after immersion in liquid H2O. It was shown t hat the intercept in the plots of In W-L vs. In t provides quantitativ e information on the wetting property of the surface. The simulation b ased on Washburn's theory predicted the limited intercepts with sulfon ation.