This book documents the proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Acid-Base Interactions: Relevance to Adhesion Science and Technology held in Newark, New Jersey, October 19--21, 1998.

Since the first symposium on this topic was held on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Professor Frederick M. Fowkes in 1990, it was deemed opportune and necessary to hold the second symposium on this topic. This symposium was organized with the following objectives in mind: (i) to consolidate the R&D activity carried out since the first symposium, (ii) to provide a forum for discussion of latest research results, (iii) to provide an opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas, (iv) to identify topics where there was discordance of opinion or discrepancy, and (v) to highlight areas which needed intensified R&D activities. The final technical program contained a total of 36 papers by researchers and technologists from academia, industry and other organizations.

This book contains a total of 32 papers, which were rigorously peer reviewed and suitably revised before inclusion in this book. The book is divided into three parts as follows: Part 1: Fundamental Aspects of Acid-Base Interactions; Part 2: Characterization of the Acid-Base Properties of Materials; and Part 3: Applications of Acid-Base Interactions. The topics covered include: Surface free energy acid-base theory applied to solid surfaces; Good, van Oss and Chaudhury theory; contact angle measurements and interpretation; acid-base theory of contact angles; acid-base strength of solid surfaces; acid-base interactions at solid surfaces; acid-base interactions at the molecular level; characterization of acid-base properties of a host of materials (polymers, wood, glass, ceramics, silica particles, textile fibers, rocks) by XPS, inverse gas chromatography, immersion calorimetry, contact angle titration, and thin layer wicking; and relevance of acid-base interactions to bioadhesion, microbial adhesion, polymer adhesion, and adhesion in reinforced polymer composites.

Adrian J. Wallbank is a Lecturer in Educational Development at Oxford Brookes University, UK, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.