Rheological behavior of PAA–C n TAB complex: influence of PAA charge density and surfactant tail length in PAA semidilute aqueous solution

Interactions between anionic polyelectrolyte, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), and cationic surfactant, alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (C _n TAB), were investigated by rheological measurements in semidilute PAA solution. The dependences of the rheological behavior on the chain length of the surfactant, PAA neutralization degree, and temperature were discussed. The results revealed that both dodecyl and cetyltrimethylammonium bromides (C₁₂TAB and C₁₆TAB) could increase the viscosity of PAA solution when the surfactant amounts surpassed a critical surfactant concentration (C _c), and C _c of C₁₆TAB was lower than that of C₁₂TAB at same PAA neutralization degree. The increase of viscosity is attributed to the surfactant micelles bridging of the polymer chains and confine the mobility PAA chain. On the other hand, it is found that the hydrogen bonding also played an important role in the PAA–C _n TAB system, especially in lower neutralization degree PAA solution, which results in the viscosity increase rapidly with the added surfactant into lower neutralization degree PAA solution.     

Interaction Between 1-Dodecyl-3-Methylimidazolium Bromide and Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose in Aqueous Solution: Effect of Polymer Concentration

Effect of the concentration of water-soluble polyanion (sodium carboxymethylcellulose, NaCMC) on the interaction between a cationic surfactant (1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, C₁₂mimBr) and NaCMC in aqueous solution has been studied by isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC), conductivity, surface tension, and rheological measurements. From the surfactant/polymer interacting enthalpy, it can be deduced that the electrostatic attraction between the cationic surfactant and anionic polyelectrolyte causes an endothermic process, and the C₁₂mimBr monomers binding to the NaCMC chains to form micelle-like aggregates through hydrophobic interaction is an exothermic process. Increasing the NaCMC concentration causes the interaction between C₁₂mimBr and NaCMC to decrease, and the characteristic surfactant concentrations, including the critical aggregation surfactant concentration (CAC), the surfactant concentration to form free micelles (C_m), and the saturation concentration of surfactant on the NaCMC chains (C_S) to increase. Because of the strong electrostatic interaction between C₁₂mimBr and NaCMC, the formation of C₁₂mimBr/NaCMC complexes can lead to precipitation or redissolution depending on solution composition, so the critical precipitation concentration (C_P) and the onset of a redissolution concentration (C_R) has been determined by the electrical conductivity. The rheological results reveal a dramatic increase in solution viscosity around the CAC, attributed to interpolymer cross-linking through the formation of mixed micelles involving the carboxylic acid groups of NaCMC and the surfactant.     

Linear viscoelasticity of poly(acrylonitrile-co-itaconic acid)/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride extended from dilute to concentrated solutions

The solution rheology of poly(acrylonitrile-co-itaconic acid) (poly(AN-co-IA)) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) spanning dilute, semidilute unentangled and entangled regimes were investigated. The exponents in the specific viscosity η_sp ～ overlap parameter c[η] power law were 1, 2 and 4.7 for dilute, semidilute unentangled and entangled regimes, respectively, which were found to be consistent with the scaling prediction for neutral linear polymers in θ-solvent. For dilute solutions (lower than 0.9 wt.%), the linear viscoelastic responses were observed to be in good agreement with the Zimm model (Flory exponent ν = 0.5). While for semidilute unentangled solutions (between 0.9 and 8 wt.%), results obtained had been found to be consistent with Rouse model. Considering Flory exponent ν = 0.5 and the concentration dependences of the specific viscosity and relaxation time, it had been evaluated that poly(AN-co-IA) in [BMIM]Cl behaves as a neutral polymer in θ-solvent. It had also been suggested that according to the unusual deviation of Cox-Merz rule, poly(AN-co-IA)/[BMIM]Cl solutions are typical neutral polymeric liquids for the concentrated solutions but have shown a more complicated behavior at high deformation rates.     

Influence of chain charge and complexation on the overlap and entanglements formation in poly(acrylic acid) salt-containing aqueous solutions

Dilute-semidilute regime crossover in aqueous solutions of partly neutralized poly(acrylic acid) and of its complex with tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide was studied by light scattering and viscometry methods. The chain charge growth causes the decrease of overlap concentration (c*) and the increase of the entanglements formation concentration (ce), hence, the semidilute unentangled regime of solution expands. Complexation of the polyelectrolyte with an oppositely charged surfactant leads to c* increase and to ce decrease. It is shown that in semidilute entangled solutions the surfactant acts as an effective structuring agent because of the binding of polyelectrolyte chains via surfactant micelles.     

Steady and dynamic rheological behaviors of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose entangled semi-dilute solution with opposite charged surfactant dodecyl-trimethylammonium bromide

The steady and dynamic rheological behaviors of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) entangled semi-dilute solution filled with different concentrations of dodecyl-trimethylammonium bromide (C₁₂TAB) were investigated. The results reveal that the zero shear rate viscosity (η₀) and dynamic modules (G′and G″) increase with C₁₂TAB concentration (C_s), and there exist three scaling regions divided by two critical C₁₂TAB concentrations (C₁, C₂ and , respectively, from steady and dynamic tests). The increase of viscosity and modules with C_s is ascribed to formation of network due to C₁₂TAB micelles bridging NaCMC chains. The two critical C₁₂TAB concentrations implies that the structure evolution of NaCMC–C₁₂TAB complex is exposed to three states with increasing C_s, i.e., no network formation, network extent progressive formation and perfect network formation, respectively. Moreover, are a little lower than C₁, C₂, indicating that the dynamic test is more sensitive to detect the structure change of the complex as compared with steady test. Furthermore, it is found that as NaCMC concentration increases, , and increase.     

Tuning particle morphology of mesoporous silica nanoparticles for adsorption of dyes from aqueous solution

Spherical and rod mesoporous silica nanoparticles with hexagonal mesostructure were prepared using the modified Stöber method. The morphology, size and internal pore structure can be controlled by simple changing of surfactant concentration and water:ethanol molar ratio. Monodispersed spheroid MCM-41 was obtained at 40 °C under basic conditions using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₆TAB) as template. Obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results reveal that the pore volume and surface area increase when the amount of C₁₆TAB increases whereas the pore diameter and particle size decrease. However, the use of ethanol as cosolvent led to an increase in the particles’ size. Moreover, the addition of a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane greatly influenced the final particle shape. The material was effectively used for the removal of two fluorescent dyes (Hoechst 33342 and rhodamine 6g) from aqueous solution. Adsorption isotherm models, Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin were used to simulate the equilibrium data. The Langmuir model was found to fit the experimental data better than others models.     

Interactions of two homologues of cationic surface active ionic liquids with sodium carboxymethylcellulose in aqueous solution

In the preceding paper of this series, we studied the interactions of copolymers with the ionic liquids, 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (C _n mimBr, n?=?8, 10, 12, 14, 16) and N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bromide (C _n MPB, n?=?12, 14, 16). An obvious difference was detected between the interaction mechanism and the alkyl chain length of the surfactant. In the present study, we performed a systematic study on the interaction of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) with ionic liquids in aqueous solution by isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC), conductivity, turbidity, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The existence of electrostatic attraction between NaCMC and ILs could increase the complexity of these systems. The results show that the monomers of C₈mimBr can bind to the NaCMC chains and form free surfactant micelles in the solution, while no micelle-like C₈mimBr/NaCMC cluster is detected. For other surfactants, the formation of surfactant/NaCMC clusters in the solution is driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, which could be divided into two types. One type is the polymer-induced surfactant/NaCMC complexes that form in the solution for the surfactant of C _n mimBr (n?=?10, 12, 14) or C _n MPB (n?=?12, 14). The other type is that the surfactant-induced surfactant/NaCMC complexes come into being for the surfactant of C₁₆mimBr or C₁₆MPB. Finally, the different modes of complex formation proposed have a good interpretation of the experiment results, unraveling the details of the effect of surfactant alkyl chain length and headgroup on the surfactant–NaCMC interactions.     

A spectral approach to determine location and orientation of azo dyes within surfactant aggregates

The UV–vis absorption properties of azo dyes are known to exhibit a variation with the polarity and acidity of the dye environment. The spectral properties of a series of anionic azo dyes were characterized to further probe the interaction of these dyes with two types of surfactant aggregates: (1) the spherical micelles formed in aqueous solution by alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (C_nTAB) surfactants with n = 10–16 and (2) the unilamellar vesicles spontaneously formed in water from binary mixtures of the oppositely-charged double-tailed surfactants cationic didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) and anionic sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT or AOT). The observed dye spectra reflect the solvatochromic behavior of the dyes and suggest the location and orientation of the dye within the surfactant aggregates. Deconvolution of the overall spectra into sums of Gaussian curves more readily displays any contributions of tautomeric forms of the azo dyes resulting from intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The rich variation in UV/vis absorption properties of these anionic azo dyes supports their use as sensitive tools to explore the nanostructures of surfactant aggregates.     

Thermodynamic stability and retinol binding property of β-lactoglobulin in the presence of cationic surfactants

In this work the stability parameters of bovine β-lactoglobulin, variant A (BLG-A), with regard to their transition curves induced by dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₂TAB), tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₄TAB) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₆TAB) as cationic surfactants, were determined at 298 K. For each transition curve, the conventional method of analysis which assumes a linear concentration dependence of the pre- and post-transition base lines, gave the most realistic values for ΔG_D(H₂O). The results represent the increase in the denaturating power of surfactants with an increase in hydrocarbon chain length. The value of about 22.27 kJ · mol^?1 was obtained for ΔG_D(H₂O) from transition curves. Subsequently, the retinol binding property of BLG as its functional indicator was investigated in the presence of these surfactants using the spectrofluorimeter titration method. The results represent the substantial enhancement of retinol binding affinity of BLG in the presence of these surfactants.     

Viscoelasticity and rheology in the regimes from dilute to concentrated in cellulose 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate solutions

Dynamic rheological behaviors of α-cellulose 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim]Ac) solutions were investigated in a large range of concentrations (0.1–10 wt %) at 25 °C. On the basis of data from the dynamic viscoelastic test, the exponents of the specific viscosity η _sp versus concentration c were determined as 1.0, 2.0 and 4.7 for dilute, semidilute unentangled and entangled regimes respectively, which were in accordance with the scaling prediction for neutral polymer in θ solvent. The intrinsic viscosity [η] of the solution was determined to be 253 mL/g at 25 °C. The linear viscoelastic response of the dilute and semidilute unentangled solutions could be described successfully by the Zimm and Rouse model (ν = 0.5 for θ solution) respectively, suggesting that the motion of cellulose chain in [Emim]Ac changed from Zimm to Rouse model with increasing concentration. At low concentrations, failure of the Cox–Merz rule with steady shear viscosity larger than complex viscosity was observed. While as the concentration increased, the deviation from the Cox–Merz rule disappeared due to the formation of homogeneous entanglement structure in cellulose solution.     

Rheological properties of wormlike micelles in sodium oleate solution induced by sodium ion

Aqueous solutions of anionic surfactant, sodium oleate (NaOA), have been studied by means of steady-state shear rheology and dynamic oscillatory technique. The micellar structure can be changed upon the addition of NaCl, Na₂CO₃ and NaCl/NaOH while NaOA concentration is maintained at 0.060 M. These systems except NaOA/NaCl show high viscosity and strong viscoelasticity. The hydroxide ion is very important for the formation of wormlike micelles. The anions of salts also have effect on the rheological properties of wormlike micelles. Three parameters: intersection frequency ω_i, plateau modulus G₀ and relaxation time τ are also discussed. The Maxwell model and Cole-Cole plot are applied to investigate the dynamic viscoelasticity of wormlike micelles. Variation in surfactant packing parameter R_P can be used to explain the change of rheology and microstructure of the micelles.     

Using Calixarenes To Model Polyelectrolyte Surfactant Nucleation Sites

The formation of mixed micelles composed of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₂TAB) and a hexamethylated p‐sulfonatocalix[6]arene (SC6HM) was studied by several techniques. It was found that above the critical aggregation concentration the concentrations of free and micellized surfactant are strongly related to that of SC6HM. When there is free SC6HM in solution, the addition of C₁₂TAB mainly results in an increase in the concentration of micellized surfactant, but when all SC6HM has been aggregated, the addition of C₁₂TAB results in a substantial increase in the concentration of free surfactant in solution. When the concentration of free surfactant is equal to the critical micelle concentration of the pure system, a second independent aggregation process is observed. This aggregation behavior has many features that are similar to those of more complex systems that involve surfactants in the presence of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. In this way, calixarenes can serve as simple models to mimic polyelectrolytes and to gain insight into the complex behavior displayed by these macromolecules.     

一个高粘弹的阴离子蠕虫胶束体系

以频率扫描和稳态剪切实验研究了140 mmol·L^-1羧酸盐gemini 表面活性剂(C₁₄Φ₂C₁₄)在100 mmol·L^-1 NaBr 条件下溶液的流变行为. 在低剪切频率时, 溶液呈现出具有单一松弛时间特性的Maxwell 流体行为.通过活的高分子模型(living polymer model)分析,C₁₄Φ₂C₁₄体系在25℃ 时形成了很长的蠕虫胶束(3.6-6.8μm). 冷冻透射电镜也观察到蠕虫胶束的形成. 这些胶束相互缠绕, 形成了很黏稠的溶液(零剪切粘度高达1.10×10⁴ Pa·s), 外观呈现胶状. 随着温度升高至70℃, 体系的相对粘度仍旧保持很高(1.8×10⁴), 这在阴离子表面活性剂蠕虫胶束溶液中是很少见的. 体系的流动活化能(E_a)约为(141±5) kJ·mol^-1. 利用动态光散射测定了C₁₄Φ₂C₁₄聚集体的尺寸分布, 证实了这个表面活性剂在5-10 mmol·L^-1的低浓度时生成了约100 nm的大聚集体, 这些大聚集体随着表面活性剂浓度的增加很容易转化成棒状直至蠕虫胶束.     

Liquid–liquid equilibrium calculation in binary water + nonionic surfactant CiEj systems with a new mass-action law model based on continuous thermodynamics

A systematic study of the LLE for a number of aqueous solutions of n-alkyl polyglycol ethers (C_iE_j) with tail length i from 4 to 12 and head length j from 1 to 6 is presented. For calculation a new thermodynamic model was developed basing on the mass-action law and continuous thermodynamics. Besides the micellization the self association of water is taken into account. The resulting polydisperse mixture of micelles and water associates is described by two continuous aggregation-size distribution functions depending on temperature and surfactant concentration. The Gibbs energy of the mixture is calculated by the Flory-Huggins theory with a temparature dependent parameter χ. The model is applied to 13 water + C_iE_j systems with LCST behavior and to the three systems water + C₄E₁, water + C₁₀E₄ and water + C₁₀E₅ with closed-loop miscibility gaps. For the former 13 systems four parameters were fitted to the experimental equilibrium data. For the systems with closed-loop miscibility gaps two additional parameters were necessary, due two the more extended temperature range. The agreement between calculated and experimental data is very good for nearly all systems of both types.     

Structural behaviour of mixed cationic surfactant micelles: a small-angle neutron scattering study

Self-assembly in mixtures of two single-chain cationic surfactants, with different tail lengths (CTAB and DTAB) as well as of a single-chain (DTAB) and a double-chain (DDAB) cationic surfactant, with identical tail lengths, have been investigated with small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and rationalised in terms of bending elasticity properties. The growth behaviour of micelles with respect to surfactant composition appears completely different in the two surfactant mixtures. DTAB form small oblate spheroidal micelles in presence of [NaBr] = 0.1 M that transform into prolate spheroidal mixed CTAB/DTAB micelles upon adding moderate amounts of CTAB, so as to give a mole fraction y = 0.20 in solution. Most unexpectedly, upon further addition of CTAB the mixed CTAB/DTAB micelles grow with an almost equal rate in both length and width directions to form tablets. In contrast to this behaviour, mixed DDAB/DTAB micelles grow virtually exclusively in the length direction, in presence of [NaBr] = 0.1 M, to form elongated ellipsoidal (tablet-shaped) and subsequently long wormlike micelles as the fraction of DDAB in the micelles increases. Mixed DDAB/DTAB micelles grow to become as long as 2000 Å before an abrupt transition to large bilayer structures occurs. This means that the micelles are much longer at the micelle-to-bilayer transition as compared to the same mixture in absence of added salt. It is found that the point of transition from micelles to bilayers is significantly shifted towards higher fractions of aggregated DTAB as an appreciable amount of salt is added to DDAB/DTAB mixtures, indicating a considerable reduction of the spontaneous curvature with an increasing [NaBr]. By means of deducing the various bending elasticity constants from our experimental results, according to a novel approach by ours, we are able to conclude that the different growth behaviours appear as a consequence of a considerably lower bending rigidity, as well as higher saddle-splay constant, for DDAB/DTAB surfactant mixtures in presence of [NaBr] = 0.1 M, as compared to mixtures of CTAB/DTAB in [NaBr] = 0.1 M and DDAB/DTAB in absence of added salt.     

On the stability and properties of the polyacrylate/Na-MMT nanocomposite obtained by seeded emulsion polymerization

For high performance waterborne coatings usually polymer latexes with low emulsifier content are more preferred. Although polymer/clay nanocomposites offer improved properties, it is difficult to produce clay based nanocomposite latexes containing low emulsifier due to the stabilization problems especially caused by organoclays. Present study deals with the preparation of a tBA/BA/MAA ternary copolymer/clay nanocomposite containing 3 wt.% sodium montmorillonite (Na⁺-MMT) via seeded emulsion polymerization. Experimentally it was observed that even the usage of hydrophilic clay caused stabilization problem and a certain amount of emulsifier (>1 wt.%) was necessary to obtain stable latexes. In addition, the usage of a low molecular weight water soluble polymer as steric barrier was found to increase the stability of system. Obtained nanocomposite latex showed fine particle size diameter (127 nm) and very narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.06). The WAXD and TEM investigations indicated that a mostly exfoliated nanocomposite was obtained. Thermal analyses (DSC, DMTA and TGA) showed that there was no change at T_g of the copolymer while very high improvement was obtained for elastic modulus and a slight increase in thermal stability. According to the rheological measurements, the nanocomposite latex showed a higher low shear viscosity, a stronger shear thinning behavior and an improved physical stability in comparison to the reference latex.     

Effect of concentration regime on rheological properties of sodium polymethacrylate and its complexes with polystyrene-poly(N-ethyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide) block copolymer in aqueous salt solution

The effect of concentration on the behavior of high-molecular-mass sodium polymethacrylate (M _w = 3.9 × 10⁵) in a 0.1 M NaCl aqueous solution was studied by the methods of dynamic and static light scattering, and capillary and rotational viscometry. It was shown that the concentration corresponding to the formation of fluctuation network of polyelectrolyte entanglements (6.4%) is substantially higher than the crossover concentration (0.25%). This fact indicates the existence of a wide concentration interval for a semidilute unentangled polyanion solution. The introduction of minor amounts of micelles of cationic amphiphilic polystyrene-poly(N-ethyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide) diblock copolymer is accompanied by the development of the network of an interpolyelectrolyte complex. The junctions of this network are diblock copolymer micelles that are linked to polyanion macromolecules via salt bonds. The formation of interpolyelectrolyte network leads to the additional structuring of the sodium polymethacrylate solution and an increase in its viscosity. The growth in viscosity is most pronounced in the concentration region above the concentration corresponding to the formation of entanglement network of the free polyanion.     

Vesicle stability in aqueous mixtures of zwitterionic/anionic surfactants

It was studied that the influences of the aging, temperature, addition of the polymer and cosolvent on the stability of the vesicles spontaneously formed in the mixtures of zwitterionic surfactant (dodecyl carboxyl betaine, C₁₂BE) and double-tailed anionic surfactant (sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate, AOT) under the inducement of salt by means of freeze-fracture and negative-staining transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and turbidity measurements. It is found that the vesicles can exist over a long period of aging (about 300 days) at room temperature, show good stability after a heating–cooling cycle of 90–25 °C and a freeze–thaw cycle of −10 to 25 °C, respectively, and may be transformed from spherical vesicles to tubelike structures induced by high temperature 90 °C. Under the effect of (PEO)₁₃(PPO)₃₀(PEO)₁₃ (L64), the transition from unilameller vesicles to large multivesicular vesicles. The presence of ethanol may decrease the stability of vesicles, resulting in the fusion among vesicles to form large vesicles. The excessive amount of ethanol may destroy the vesicles, and the order of ability of destroying vesicles was obtained to be C₅H₁₁OH > C₄H₉OH > C₃H₇OH > C₂H₅OH > CH₃OH.     

Study of host–guest interaction between ß-cyclodextrin and alkyltrimethylammonium bromides in water

Cyclodextrins were found to play important roles in self-assembly systems of surfactants. The interactions between host molecule ß-cyclodextrin (CD) and model cationic surfactants, alkyltrimethylammonium bromides with different alkyl chain length: dodecyl-(C₁₂TAB), tetradecyl-(C₁₄TAB) and hexadecyl-(C₁₆TAB) are studied by means of conductivity measurements at 313.2 K. The data obtained indicate that inclusion complexes (CD:S⁺) had formed, and apparent critical micelle concentration (CMC*) is equivalent to the combined concentrations of surfactant monomers complexed with the CD and that of a free dissolved monomer in equilibrium with the micellized surfactant without CD. Inclusion complexes were characterized by an equilibrium binding constant K ₁₁, which value increases as the length of alkyl chains, and consequently the hydrophobicity, increases. From mathematical model the concentrations of the uncomplexed cyclodextrin, uncomplexed surfactant ion, and inclusion complex in the submicellar, as well as in the micellar range were calculated. The competition between the micellization and complexation processes leads to the existence of a significant concentration of free CD in equilibrium with the micellar aggregates. The percentage of uncomplexed cyclodextrin in equilibrium with the micelles is independent on cyclodextrin concentration for a particular ternary system and is 31, 37, and 34 % for C₁₂TAB/water/ß-CD, C₁₄TAB/water/ß-CD and C₁₆TAB/water/ß-CD, respectively. By using standard Gibbs free energy for micellization and surfactant complexation by CD, we can explain the observed behavior.