van Oss and co-workers [22] introduced the notion of acidic and basic components to the surface energy (у+and у Г, respectively) to characterize the acid-base properties of materials and predict WAB:
WAB = 2(у+у2-)1/2 + 2(уГу2+)1/2 (16)
у+ and уГ for a solid can be determined by contact angle measurements using three reference liquids of known уL, у +, and уГ. The acidic and basic surface tension components for test liquids were established with model surfaces and liquids on the assumption that for water уГ = у+ = 25.5mJ/m2 and
уАВ = 2(у+уГ)1/2 (17)
Application of Eq. (17) to water (w) yields
уАВ= 2(25.5 x 25.5)1/2 = 51 mJ/m2
Table 6 reports the total surface tension and its components for some reference liquids. a-Bromonaphthalene, CH2I2, silicone oil, and tricresyl phosphate probe dispersive interactions only whilst the other liquids permit characterization of both dispersive and acid — base interactions of surfaces. Note that the surface tension of silicone oil is very low, so this liquid is expected to spread on surfaces.