A Description of the Wool Fiber Surface Based on Contact Angle Measurements

Abstract

Contact angle data from various sources in conjunction with the Israelachvili and Gee equation derived for chemically heterogeneous surfaces are used to describe the wool fiber surface/liquid/air interface. A diagram representing surface compositions consistent with this data is constructed based on the assumption that the wool fiber surface chemical moieties consist of methyl, methylene, and hydrophilic groups. The results from these analyses indicate that the fiber/liquid/air interface is at variance with a current surface model (based on chemical analysis) that predicts a simple methyl-like composition. The paper concludes that the wool fiber surface cannot be described as chemically homogeneous.