The surface energy determines how much energy is needed to break the chemical bonds when a new surface of a solid or liquid is created. Surface energy is used to describe wettability. This is particularly important when materials such as plastic are to be bonded, painted or printed. If a surface is highly energetic (polar), the adhesion of printing inks or adhesives to it is considerably higher than with low-energy (non-polar) surfaces. For liquids, the surface energy is equal to the surface tension. It’s quite easy to increase surface energy with plasma technology.
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