Determination of the adsorption character of cellulose fibres using surface tension and surface charge

The reactivity and adsorption properties of cellulose fibres are critical for successful treatment because behavior during the finishing process is determined by both structure and surface properties. The fine structure of natural cellulose fibres i.e. cotton, is different from the regular viscose, modal and new types of regenerated cellulose fibres i.e. lyocell, which are clarified by different hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of fibres and different adsorption properties. Tensiometry, seldom used in fibre characterization was used to obtain the differences in the adsorption properties of different cellulose fibres. The surface tension, contact angle and adsorption were measured, and then compared with various methods for determining water adsorption. Currently some additional methods especially sensitive to surface properties (electrokinetic properties of fibres) are being applied in order to characterize the adsorption character and reactivity of the fibre surfaces. The streaming potential was measured due to the fact that the interaction properties are strongly influenced by electric charges on the surface, and from these values the zeta potential (ζ) was calculated as a function of the pH and the surfactant concentration in the liquid phase. As with the results of fibre reactivity and adsorption properties obtained by conventional methods, the electrokinetic character of the materials and their adsorption ability determined using the tensiometry also show the same phenomena. The natural fibres have the smaller hydrophilic character and they are less reactive than the regenerated ones, so the ζ_max of cotton is the highest and the contact angle φ the greatest.