Dyne liquids are used to measure the surface energy of substrates. Dyne liquids can fairly accurately contain surface energy values for material surfaces, for example between 40 and 42 dyne/cm.
A dyne is a unit of measurement used to determine the surface energy of a film or foil. Using liquid testing, measurements of surface energy can be obtained. Apply the liquid in thin layers in broad lines with a brush or pen.
This method is commonly used to estimate the level of treatment of plastic surfaces in manufacturing/production environments.
For better adhesion, it is necessary to raise the surface energy of the substrate to just above the surface energy of the material to be applied. Surface energy can be determined by using a surface energy testing liquid such as a Dyne liquid.
The dyne liquid test involves using a solution made of a mixture of two chemicals that produce a liquid (dyne) with a surface tension in the range of 30-70 dyne/cm. When a dyne test liquid is applied to a surface, the liquid either forms a continuous film on the surface or is pulled back into small droplets.
The test involves placing a droplet of various dyne fluids on the treated surface and watching the droplet spread over three seconds; the substrate will have a smaller surface energy for that fluid value, measured in mN/m ( Dyne) said. If the Dyne test liquid forms a network or retracts droplets in less than a second, the substrate has a lower surface energy than the liquid itself. The exact surface energy (dyne level) can be determined by applying a range of increasing or decreasing values for the dyne test liquid.
This approach is subjective, but it provides a quick way to assess processing levels and is especially useful in a production environment. There are also pens that operate similar to dyne liquids. A more quantitative approach is the measurement of contact angle, which decreases with increasing treatment levels. A very good wetting fluid forms a zero contact angle on a solid surface.
