An economical contact angle apparatus and its performance evaluation for determining the critical micelle concentration
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Abstract
This study aimed to develop an economical contact angle apparatus with a simple structure using easily accessible, low-cost components. The prototype consisted of a liquid droplet control unit, a droplet magnification system, and a webcam for image capture, connected to ImageJ software for contact angle analysis. The apparatus was evaluated by measuring the contact angles of deionized water on various solid surfaces and comparing the results with those obtained from a commercial contact angle instrument (Dataphysics model OCA20). The measured values from the prototype were found to be comparable to those from the commercial instrument, with percentage errors of less than 5% relative to reference values. Additionally, the apparatus was used to determine the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of two surfactants: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Triton X-100. The obtained CMC values showed percentage errors of 0% and 6%, respectively, when compared with reference values reported in the literature. These findings demonstrate that the economical contact angle apparatus developed in this study can be effectively applied in physical chemistry laboratory experiments or related fields of education.
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References
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