Adhesion of high polymers. II. Wettability of elastomers

Data on wettability of elastomers should be considered basic to the understanding of all phases of elastomer adhesion. However, no such data in the form of critical surface tensions were available for elastomers other than polydimethylsiloxane. For this study, 18 elastomers were selected to determine the effects of functional groups, of geometrical and structural isomerisms, of copolymerization, and of the induced orientation upon wettability. Most results support the constitutive law of wettability established by Shafrin and Zisman. The effect of structural isomerisms in the form of a vinyl side group and cyclization is discussed. An equation for the calculation of critical surface tension of a copolymer or of a mixture of isomers is proposed as follows: where Ni is the mole‐fraction of the individual monomer in the copolymer and {article}{empty}{document}γ cᵢ{document} is the critical surface tension of each homopolymer. Most elastomer adhesion studies conducted in the past were concerned with the diffusion theory of adhesion. This study further supports the conclusion on the role of diffusion and adsorption in adhesion advanced in Part I, especially with respect to the physical state of polymer at the time of application. The wettability data in this study could shed some light upon major basic mechanisms involved in elastomer reinforcement.