Characterization of Adsorbed Molecular Water on the Surface of a Stretched Polytetrafluoroethylene Tape Analyzed by1H NMR

Abstract

A single molecule often exhibits a largely different material character from a bulk matter. Although a perfluoroalkyl (Rf) compound is a representative one, many interests have mostly been devoted to the bulk character only thus far, leaving the single molecular character unclear. Recently, a new theoretical framework, stratified dipole-arrays (SDA) theory, has appeared for comprehensive understanding of Rf compounds in terms of both single and bulk systems. On this theory, a mechanically stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is expected to exhibit a single-molecular character having dipole-driven properties, which should attract molecular water. In the present study, a stretched PTFE tape is revealed to attract molecular water (not water droplet) in fact, and the adsorbed water molecules are highly restricted in motion by the dipole–dipole interaction studied by using 1H NMR, which agrees with the prediction by the SDA theory.