Wetting behavior of thermally bonded polyester nonwoven fabrics: The importance of porosity

The wetting properties of thermally bonded polyester nonwoven fabrics with different basis weights were studied. These nonwovens had the same composition: 85% poly(ethylene terephthalate) and 15% poly(butylene terephthalate) fibers. Two techniques, the 3S wicking test and sessile drop method, yielded similar water contact angles for all the nonwovens, but these results differed from the values obtained with the single fibers. In the nonwoven fabrics, the pore structure played a dominant role in the wetting properties: the existence of large pores in the thinner nonwovens reduced the dimensions of the liquid–solid interfacial perimeter. Compared with the water contact angle of the constituent single fibers, the contact angle of the fabrics was increased. A crenellated surface model was created to quantify the influence of pores on the wettability of nonwovens. It was possible to deduce the surface porosity of the fabric with this model, but only in the case of contact with nonwetting liquids such as water: this surface porosity corresponded only to the outermost layers of the fabric structure. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 387–394, 2006