Surface Energy

Surface energy is a measure of the energy at a material’s surface, influencing how it interacts with other substances, including liquids, powders, and gases. This property plays a crucial role in industries like pharmaceuticals, coatings, and adhesives, where adhesion, wetting, and cohesion are key to product performance and processing efficiency.

On this page, learn about the principles of surface energy, its measurement techniques, and its impact on industrial applications, from improving material adhesion to optimizing formulations.

Featured Surface Energy Articles

  • Macro view of pharmaceutical powder particles, crystals, and lipid droplets at the interface with an aqueous medium, illustrating surface contact and early dissolution of poorly soluble APIs.

    Poorly Soluble APIs: How Surface Contact Shapes Dissolution and Bioavailability

    Poorly soluble APIs now represent the majority of the pharmaceutical development pipeline. Dissolution and oral bioavailability are determined by molecular solubility, surface wetting behavior, solid-state stability, and how the formulation interacts with the GI environment from first contact onward. Amorphous dispersions, lipid systems, nanocrystals, and co-crystals each rely on different surface mechanisms to deliver their intended advantage.

  • Powder wettability illustration showing poor wetting, trapped air, dry-core clumping, and controlled dispersion in liquid.

    Powder Wettability: Why Powders Float, Clump, or Disperse

    Powder wettability controls the first contact between powder and liquid. When liquid cannot enter the powder structure and replace trapped air, dispersion may start with floating material, clumps, dry cores, and unnecessary process variation. Powder wettability often decides whether a powder-liquid process starts cleanly or begins with defects. [...]

  • Loss-in-weight feeder with anti-static hoses and RH display, used to link settings to charge decay time.

    Charge Decay Time: A Fast Predictor of Powder Handling Risk

    Charge decay time turns electrostatics into a practical control knob. Measure it under controlled humidity, log it with charge-to-mass, and link it to plant outcomes. Then tune humidity and materials to stabilize feeding and discharge. Charge Decay Time: The One Metric That Predicts Trouble Electrostatic charge and [...]

  • Macro view of laser-assisted bioprinting: a clean ligament ejects a micrometer droplet onto a glass substrate patterned with droplets.

    Case Study: Powder Technology Principles in Laser-Assisted Bioprinting

    Table of contents Executive Summary laser-assisted bioprinting powder principles show the benefits of particle thinking. Treat every printed droplet as a living particle. Then use the same physics that guide powders to design jetting, impact, packing, and maturation. This frame reduces trial and error and gives teams a shared [...]

  • Close-up macro view showing moisture droplets condensing on fine powder particles, illustrating moisture risk in powder formulations.

    Moisture as a Formulation Risk: Beyond Standard Hygroscopicity Testing

    Moisture risk in powder formulations extends beyond mass uptake. Water reshapes surfaces, phases, and reactions. You need advanced characterization and smarter design to stay stable. Moisture risk in powder formulations Moisture risk in powder formulations is often treated as a checklist item. Teams log RH limits, then [...]

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More Surface Energy Articles

Editor’s Picks

Poorly Soluble APIs: How Surface Contact Shapes Dissolution and Bioavailability

Categories: Analytical Techniques and Methods, Editors pick, Feature Article, Particle Size Testing, Pharmaceutical Industry, Surface Energy, Wettability

Powder Segregation Diagnosis During Mixing, Conveying, and Filling

Categories: Conveying, Editors pick, Feature Article, Flowability, Mixing technology, Segregation, Uncategorised

Why Bulk Powder Behavior Depends on Contact Networks, Not Just Particle Size

Categories: Bulk Solids Characterization, Editors pick, Flowability, Insights

Why Free-Flowing Powders Still Arch in Hoppers, and How to Diagnose the Real Cause

Categories: Editors pick, Feature Article, Flowability, Hoppers

Functional Importance of Porosity in Food Powders

Categories: Bulk Solids Characterization, Compaction, Editors pick, Feature Article, Food Industry, Porosity, Rheology, Spray-Drying

Concentrated Refractory Alloy Powders for Rocket Propulsion

Categories: 3D printing, Aerospace Industry, Analytical Techniques and Methods, Editors pick, Feature Article

Silicon Anode Powder: The Manufacturing Bottleneck Behind Next Gen Battery Gains

Categories: Editors pick, Electrostatic Effects, Energy Industry, Feature Article

Graphite Under the Tree

Categories: Editors pick, Feature Article, Flowability, Laboratory, Particle size distribution, Shear

Triboelectric Charging in Powders: The science, failure modes, and industrial controls

Categories: Dustiness, Editors pick, Electrostatic Effects, Feature Article, Flowability

Additive Manufacturing Integration and the Rise of Smart Powder Processing

Categories: Additives, Aerospace Industry, AI, Editors pick, Feature Article, Metallurgy

Powder Plateau S Curve: How to Win When Physics Limits You

Categories: Additives, Bulk Solids Characterization, Editors pick, Feature Article, Flowability, Future

Powder Technologies Within Circular Systems

Categories: 3D printing, Bulk Solids Characterization, Editors pick, Feature Article, Legislation and Standards, Metallurgy, Moisture Sensitivity, Particle Size Testing, Plastics and Polymers, Porosity, Sustainability

Atomic Fundamentals and the Density–Energy Link

Categories: Editors pick, Electrostatic Effects, Energy Industry, Feature Article, Future

Black Mass Powder Handling: NFPA 660, 2025 Safety Regulations

Categories: Chemical Composition Analysis, Editors pick, Energy Industry, Feature Article, Flowability, Legislation and Standards, Sustainability