Nonionic surfactant sorption onto the bacterial cell surface: a multi-interaction isotherm

The adsorption of linear polyoxyethylene (POE) alcohol surfactants of the form CxEy onto the surface of a Sphingomonas sp. has been examined. For this study, the alkyl chain length (x) was fixed at 12 and the POE chain length (y) was varied, with y = 4, 7, 9, 10, and 23 ethylene oxide units. Langmuirian isotherms were observed for C12E4 and C12E23, and more complex isotherms were observed for the three intermediate POE chain length surfactants, with C12E7 and C12E9 exhibiting strong S-shaped isotherms. All isotherms showed plateaus near the critical micelle concentration (CMC) with the plateau decreasing with increasing POE chain length. A simple multi-interaction isotherm is proposed that models the sorption isotherm as the sum of two interactions. The first interaction describes monolayer adsorption, whereas the second interaction describes lateral interactions between sorbed surfactant molecules and the formation of surface aggregates. Varying ratios of these two interactions as a function of POE chain length gives rise to the variety of observed isotherm shapes. Results of the isotherm analysis suggest that lateral interactions dominate for surfactants with low POE chain lengths, and the lateral interactions decrease as the POE chain length is increased.     

New methodology to determine the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism from experimental dynamic surface tension data

We present a new methodology to determine the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism (diffusion-controlled vs mixed diffusion-barrier controlled), including deducing the kinetics parameters (the diffusion coefficient, D, and the energy-barrier parameter, beta), from the experimental short-time dynamic surface tension (DST) data. The new methodology has the following advantages over the existing procedure used to analyze the experimental DST data: (a) it does not require using a model for the equilibrium adsorption isotherm, and (b) it only requires using the experimental short-time DST data measured at two initial surfactant bulk solution concentrations. We apply the new methodology to analyze the experimental short-time DST data of the following alkyl poly(ethylene oxide), CiEj, nonionic surfactants: C12E4, C12E6, C12E8, and C10E8 measured using the pendant-bubble apparatus. We find that for C12E4 and C12E6, the effect of the energy barrier on the overall rate of surfactant adsorption can be neglected for surfactant bulk solution concentrations below their respective critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), and therefore, that the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism for C12E4 and C12E6 is diffusion-controlled at any of their premicellar surfactant bulk solution concentrations. On the other hand, for C12E8 and C10E8, we find that their respective CMC values are large enough to observe a significant effect of the energy barrier on the overall rate of surfactant adsorption. In other words, for C12E8 and C10E8, the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism shifts from diffusion-controlled to mixed diffusion-barrier controlled as their premicellar surfactant bulk solution concentrations increase. We test the new methodology by predicting the short-time DST profiles at other initial surfactant bulk solution concentrations, and then comparing the predicted DST profiles with those measured experimentally. Very good agreement is obtained for the four CiEj nonionic surfactants considered. We also compare the results of implementing the new methodology with those of implementing the existing procedure, and conclude that using a model for the equilibrium adsorption isotherm can lead not only to different values of D and beta, but it can also lead to a completely different determination of the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism. Since the new methodology proposed here does not require using a model for the equilibrium adsorption isotherm, we conclude that it should provide a more reliable determination of the rate-limiting adsorption kinetics mechanism, including the deduced kinetics parameters, D and beta.     

Analytical investigation of the self-desorption of the oligomers of mixtures of a polydisperse ethoxylated surfactant with sodium dodecylsulfate from a silica/water interface

The adsorption isotherms onto a hydrophilic silica of mixtures of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and of all the oligomers of a polydisperse nonylethylene glycol n-dodecyl ether (C(12)E(9)) surfactant were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. Incorporation of the anionic surfactant to the negatively charged silica surface is favored by the adsorption of the nonionic surfactant. Comparison between the adsorption isotherms of mixtures of SDS with a monodisperse C(12)E(9) and a polydisperse C(12)E(9) shows that the adsorption of SDS at the silica/water interface is stronger with the latter material than with the former in a large surface coverage domain. The composition of the surface aggregates and the variation of the oligomer distribution in these aggregates were determined. The previously described phenomena called self-desorption which was observed for the global C(12)E(9) and SDS surfactant mixtures was confirmed: increasing the total concentration at a fixed surfactant ratio induces at high concentration a desorption of the anionic surfactant and all of the less polar oligomers from the solid/water interface. An interpretation scheme is proposed which assumes that the interaction of SDS is larger with the less polar oligomers than with the polar ones. The self-desorption effect could then be considered as the consequence of the polydispersity of the nonionic surfactant and to the net repulsion interaction between SDS and the silica surface as the mole fraction of SDS in the surfactant mixture increases.     

Self-consistent field modeling of non-ionic surfactants at the silica-water interface: incorporating molecular detail

We have constructed a model to predict the properties of non-ionic (alkyl-ethylene oxide) (C(n)E(m)) surfactants, both in aqueous solutions and near a silica surface, based upon the self-consistent field theory using the Scheutjens-Fleer discretisation scheme. The system has the pH and the ionic strength as additional control parameters. At high ionic strength, the solvent quality for the surfactant head groups is affected, which changes both the bulk and the adsorption behavior of the surfactant. For example, with increasing ionic strength, the CMC drops and the aggregation increases. Surfactants adsorb above the critical surface association concentration (CSAC). The CSAC is a function of the surfactant and the surface properties. Therefore, the CSAC varies with both the ionic strength and the pH. We predict that with increasing ionic strength, the CSAC will first slightly increase but then drop substantially. The charge on the surface is pH dependent, and as the head groups bind through H-bonding to the silanol groups, the CSAC increases with increasing pH. We focus on adsorption/desorption transitions for the surfactants and compare these to the experimental data. Both the equilibrium predictions and the consequences for the kinetics of adsorption follow experimental findings. Our results show that molecularly realistic models can reveal a much richer interfacial behavior than anticipated from more generic models.     

Surface and solution behavior of the mixed dialkyl chain cationic and nonionic surfactants

The surface and solution behavior of the mixed dialkyl chain cationic and nonionic surfactant mixture of dihexadecyldimethylammonium bromide, DHDAB, and hexaethylene monododecyl ether, C12E6, has been investigated, using primarily the scattering techniques of small-angle neutron scattering and neutron reflectivity. Within the time scale of the measurements, the adsorption of the pure component C12E6 at the air-solution interface shows no time dependence. In contrast, the adsorption of the DHDAB/C12E6 mixture and pure DHDAB has a pronounced time dependence. The characteristic time for adsorption varies with surfactant concentration, composition, and temperature. It is approximately 2-3 h for the DHDAB/C12E6 mixture, dependent upon concentration and composition, and approximately 50 min for DHDAB. At the air-solution interface, the equilibrium composition of the adsorbed layer shows a marked departure from ideal mixing, which is dependent upon both the solution concentration and the concentration of added electrolyte. In contrast, the composition of the aggregates in the bulk solution that are in equilibrium with the surface is close to ideal mixing, as expected for solution concentrations well in excess of the critical micellar concentration. The structure of the mixed adsorbed layer has been measured and compared with the structure of the equivalent pure surfactant monolayer, and no substantial changes in structure or conformation are observed. The extreme departure from ideal mixing in the adsorption behavior of the DHDAB/C12E6 mixture is discussed in the context of the structure of the adsorbed layer, changes in the underlying solution structures, and the failure of regular solution theory to predict such behavior.     

Kinetics of adsorption from micellar solutions

Previous studies on surfactant adsorption mostly deal with dilute systems without aggregation in the bulk phase. At the same time, micellar solutions can be more important from the point of view of applications. If one attempts to estimate the equilibrium adsorption, neglecting the influence of micelles can lead to reasonable results. The situation differs for non-equilibrium systems when the adsorption rate can increase by an order of magnitude at the increase of the surfactant concentration beyond the CMC. A critical survey of various models describing the influence of micelles on adsorption kinetics at the liquid-gas interface is given and the theoretical results are compared with existing experimental data. The theories proposed for the case of large deviations from the equilibrium are usually based on some unjustifiable assumptions and can describe the kinetic dependencies of adsorption in only a limited number of situations. Consequently, only rough estimates of the kinetic coefficients of micellization can be obtained from experimental data on dynamic surface tension. More rigorous equations can be derived if the system only deviates slightly from equilibrium. In the latter case, the agreement between theoretical and experimental results is essentially better and measurements of the dynamic surface elasticity of micellar solutions allow us to study the micellization kinetics.     

Self-consistent field modeling of adsorption from polymer/surfactant mixtures

We report on the development of a self-consistent field model that describes the competitive adsorption of nonionic alkyl-(ethylene oxide) surfactants and nonionic polymer poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) from aqueous solutions onto silica. The model explicitly describes the response to the pH and the ionic strength. On an inorganic oxide surface such as silica, the dissociation of the surface depends on the pH. However, salt ions can screen charges on the surface, and hence, the number of dissociated groups also depends on the ionic strength. Furthermore, the solvent quality for the EO groups is a function of the ionic strength. Using our model, we can compute bulk parameters such as the average size of the polymer coil and the surfactant CMC. We can make predictions on the adsorption behavior of either polymers or surfactants, and we have made adsorption isotherms, i.e., calculated the relationship between the surface excess and its corresponding bulk concentration. When we add both polymer and surfactant to our mixture, we can find a surfactant concentration (or, more precisely, a surfactant chemical potential) below which only the polymer will adsorb and above which only the surfactant will adsorb. The corresponding surfactant concentration is called the CSAC. In a first-order approximation, the surfactant chemical potential has the CMC as its upper bound. We can find conditions for which CMC < CSAC . This implies that the chemical potential that the surfactant needs to adsorb is higher than its maximum chemical potential, and hence, the surfactant will not adsorb. One of the main goals of our model is to understand the experimental data from one of our previous articles. We managed to explain most, but unfortunately not all, of the experimental trends. At the end of the article we discuss the possibilities for improving the model.     

Interplay between the surface adsorption and solution-phase behavior in dialkyl chain cationic-nonionic surfactant mixtures

Neutron reflectivity, NR, and surface tension have been used to study the adsorption at the air-solution interface of mixtures of the dialkyl chain cationic surfactant dihexadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DHDAB) and the nonionic surfactants monododecyl triethylene glycol (C12E3), monododecyl hexaethylene glycol (C12E6), and monododecyl dodecaethylene glycol (C12E12). The adsorption behavior of the surfactant mixtures with solution composition shows a marked departure from ideal mixing that is not consistent with current theories of nonideal mixing. For all three binary surfactant mixtures there is a critical composition below which the surface is totally dominated by the cationic surfactant. The onset of nonionic surfactant adsorption (expressed as a mole fraction of the nonionic surfactant) increases in composition as the ethylene oxide chain length of the nonionic cosurfactant increases from E3 to E12. Furthermore, the variation in the adsorption is strongly correlated with the variation in the phase behavior of the solution that is in equilibrium with the surface. The adsorbed amounts of DHDAB and the nonionic cosurfactants have been used to estimate the monomer concentration that is in equilibrium with the surface and are shown to be in reasonable qualitative agreement with the variation in the mixed critical aggregation concentration (cac).     

The Physicochemical Behavior of Phytosterol Ethoxylates

In this work the physicochemical behavior of a series of phytosterol ethoxylates in water is presented. The influence of the length of the polyoxyethylene chain is studied. The surfactant solutions have been examined by means of birefringent microscopy, surface tension, self-diffusion 1H NMR, dynamic and static light scattering, and rheology. The surfactants with a hydrophilic chain of 10 oxyethylene units or more gave a micellar region. The CMC values were generally very low and a reverse relationship between the CMC value and the polyoxyethylene chain length was obtained. The time required to reach equilibrium surface tension was very long, more than 150 min. For the hydrophobic surfactants large lamellar regions appeared while for the more hydrophilic surfactants cubic and hexagonal structures were present which remained stable up to temperatures of 100 degrees C. In the micellar region prolate aggregates were formed which showed "ghostlike" behavior, consisting of cross-linked micelles with very fast relaxation times. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Surfactant adsorption onto interfaces: measuring the surface excess in time

We propose a direct method to measure the equilibrium and dynamic surface properties of surfactant solutions with very low critical micellar concentrations (CMC) using a pendant drop tensiometer. We studied solutions of the nonionic surfactant hexaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C(12)E(6)) and of the ionic surfactant hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) with concentrated sodium bromide (NaBr). The variation of the surface tension as a function of surface concentration is obtained easily without the need for complex models and compares well with the result obtained using the Gibbs adsorption equation. The time-dependent surface concentration of each surfactant was also measured, and the adsorption process was found to be diffusion-controlled. The diffusion coefficients of the two surfactants can be extracted from the data and were found in very good agreement with literature values, further validating the method.     

Adsorption of alkyl polyglucosides on the solid/water interface: equilibrium effects of alkyl chain length and head group polymerization

The equilibrium adsorption behavior of two n-alkyl-beta-D-glucosides (octyl (C8G1) and decyl (C10G1)) and four n-alkyl-beta-D-maltosides (octyl (C8G2), decyl (C10G2), dodecyl (C12G2), and tetradecyl (C14G2)) from aqueous solution on a titania surface, as measured by ellipsometry, has been investigated. The main focus has been on the effect of changes in the alkyl chain length and headgroup polymerization, but a comparison with their adsorption on the silica/water and air/water interfaces is also presented. Some comparison with the corresponding adsorption of ethylene oxide surfactants, in particular C10E6 and C12E6, is given as well. For all alkyl polyglucosides, the maximum adsorbed amount on titania is reached slightly below the critical micelle concentration (cmc), where it levels off to a plateau and the amount adsorbed corresponds roughly to a bilayer. However, there is no evidence that this is the actual conformation of the surfactant assemblies on the surface, but the surfactants could also be arranged in a micellar network. On hydrophilic silica, the adsorbed amount is a magnitude lower than on titania, corresponding roughly to a layer of surfactants lying flat on the surface. A change in the alkyl chain length does not result in any change in the plateau molar adsorbed amount at equilibrium; however, the isotherm slope for the alkyl maltosides increases with increasing chain length. Headgroup polymerization on the other hand affects the adsorbed amount. The alkyl glucosides start adsorbing at lower bulk concentrations than the maltosides and equilibrate at higher adsorbed amounts above the cmc. When compared with the ethylene oxide (EO) surfactants, it is confirmed that the EO surfactants hardly adsorb on titania, since the measured changes in the ellipsometric angles are within the noise level. They do, however, adsorb strongly on silica.     

The Surface and Thermodynamic Properties of Ethoxylated Sodium Monoalkyl Sulfosuccinate Surfactants

A series of ethoxylated sodium monooctyl sulfosuccinates [E(n)SMOSS] and ethoxylated sodium monolauryl sulfosuccinates [E(n)SMLSS] have different units of ethylene oxide (n = 9, 14, 23) were synthesized. The surface and thermodynamic properties of these surfactants have been compared with sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate surfactant (SDOSS) as a commonly used surfactant. The surface tension measurements at 25, 35, 45, and 55°C were used to determine of the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface active properties of these surfactants. The effect of the ethylene oxide (EO) unit and the alkyl chain length on the surface properties for the prepared surfactants was studied. The results show that the ethoxylated sodium monoalkyl sulfosuccinates generally have lower values of CMC than that of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate. The values of surface active parameters indicate that the ethoxylated sodium monooctyl sulfosuccinates and ethoxylated sodium monolauryl sulfosuccinates surfactants have adsorption properties better than the sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate surfactant as a resulted presence of ethylene oxide in molecules of the prepared surfactants. The thermodynamic parameters show that the (EO) unites in the chemical structure of ethoxylated sodium monoalkyl sulfosuccinate surfactants improve their micellization and adsorption properties.     

Adsorption isotherms of nonionic surfactants in SBA-15 measured by micro-column chromatography

In this work, micro-column liquid chromatography has been employed for the study of the adsorption of ethylene glucol monoether (C8E4) and pentaethylene glucol monoether (C10E5) nonionic surfactants into the nanopores of SBA-15 silica at two temperatures. The adsorption process for both the surfactants has been investigated in the range of concentration from very dilute solution to "just above" critical micelle concentration (CMC). The adsorption data for both the surfactants are characterized as typical LC-shaped isotherms with plateau near the CMC. A simple two-step adsorption model has been applied to represent an experimental data. An attempt to estimate the thickness of the surfactant layer in the pores, from the experimental data, has been made.     

Adsorption relaxation for nonionic surfactants under mixed barrier-diffusion and micellization-diffusion control

Relaxation processes of surfactant adsorption and surface tension, which are characterized by two specific relaxation times, are theoretically investigated. We are dealing with fluid interfaces and small initial deviations from equilibrium. For surfactant concentrations below the critical micellization concentration (CMC), we consider adsorption under mixed barrier-diffusion control. General analytical expressions are derived, which are convenient for both numerical computations and asymptotic analysis. Series expansions for the short- and long-time limit are derived. The results imply that the short-time asymptotics is controlled by the adsorption barrier, whereas the long-time asymptotics is always dominated by diffusion. Furthermore, for surfactant concentrations above the CMC, adsorption under mixed micellization-diffusion control is considered. Again, a general analytical expression is derived for the relaxation of surfactant adsorption and surface tension, whose long- and short-time asymptotics are deduced. The derived equations show that at the short times the relaxation is completely controlled by the diffusion, whereas the long-time asymptotics is affected by both demicellization and diffusion. The micellar effect is manifested as an exponential (rather than square-root) decay of the perturbation. The derived expressions are applied to process available experimental data for the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 and to determine the respective demicellization rate constant.     

Physicochemical characterization of an anatase TiO2 surface and the adsorption of a nonionic surfactant: an atomic force microscopy study

Atomic force microscopy was used to characterize an anatase TiO2 surface, prepared by the helical vapor preparation method. The forces between two bare TiO2 surfaces were measured in the presence of water at various pH values. This TiO2 isoelectric point (iep) was characterized by the presence of only a van der Waals attraction and was measured at pH 5.8; this value is similar to that for a rutile TiO2 surface. The adsorption mechanism of a nonionic surfactant molecule to this anatase TiO2 surface was investigated by measuring the forces between two such TiO2 surfaces at their iep pH in the presence of linear dodecanol tetraethoxylate (C12E4), a poly(ethoxylene oxide) n-alkyl ether. C12E4 was seen by the presence of steric forces to adsorb to the uncharged TiO2 surface. For low surfactant concentrations, C12E4 adsorbed with its hydrophobic tail facing the TiO2 substrate, to reduce its entropically unfavorable contacts with water. Additional surfactant adsorption occurred at higher surfactant concentrations by the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions between the surfactant tails and heads, respectively, and gave sub-bilayers. A two-step adsorption isotherm was subsequently proposed with four regions: (1) submonolayer, (2) complete monolayer, (3) sub-bilayer, and (4) bilayer. The absence of a long-range repulsive force between the two TiO2 surfaces in the presence of the C12E4 surface aggregates indicated that a C12E4 nonionic surfactant aggregate did not possess charge.     

Experimental Approaches to Adsorption-Desorption Dynamism of Human Serum Albumin (HSA) onto Crosslinked N,N′-Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) Dextran Microbeads

Crosslinked N,N′-Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups containing dextran microbeads have been used in human serum albumin (HSA) adsorption-desorption studies. For the HSA adsorption onto positively charged hydrophilic DEAE dextran microbeads, the adsorption kinetic was slightly decreased by the changing concentration of the protein solution. Adsorption kinetics and equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of HSA on crosslinked DEAE dextran have been determined experimentally. Modeling of the adsorption processes on DEAE dextran microbeads were realized by applying different adsorption isotherms. Among the several isotherm equations, Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were investigated depending on the two temperatures. These were only slightly dependent on the initial concentration of HSA but were considerably affected by the pH of the medium. The HSA adsorption capacity factor and the adsorption equilibrium constant were obtained and mathematical modeling of adsorption, adsorption rate constants and maximum adsorption were determined. Besides the adsorption mechanism, optimum ionic strength and optimum pH also were investigated. Desorption studies and desorption ratio of the system were determined for optimum medium conditions. It was been proved both experimentally and theoretically that human HSA is adsorbed by electrostatic attraction, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction and/or hydrogen bonding.     

ADSORPTION OF NONIONIC SURFACTANTS ON LATEXES

Adsorption isotherms of ethoxylated nonylphenols on poly(styrene) and poly(vinyl chloride) latexes have been measured. The isotherms all reach a limiting adsorption at concentrations somewhat higher than the critical micellar concentrations of the surfactants. The relative affinity of the surfactants to the latex surfaces was found to decrease with increased ethylene oxide chain length. Analysis of the isotherms indicates some affinity of the ethylene oxide chain to the latex surface. This affinity may possibly be attributed to the presence of surface carboxylic groups

Some of the isotherms were obtained using the serum replacement technique developed by S.M. Ahmed et. al. (S.M. Ahmed, M.S. El-Aasser, G.H. Pauli, G.W. Poehlein and J.W. Vanderhoff, J. Coll. Interface Sci., 73 388 (1980). In the application of this technique to the adsorption of nonionic surfactants it was found that polydispersity of the surfactant plays an important role since surfactant species with high affinity to the latex surface will continuously replace other species with lower affinity.     

The Influence of Added Salt on the Adsorption of a Divalent Cationic Surfactant onto Silica. Adsorption Isotherms and Thermodynamic Modeling

We report the adsorption isotherms for a cationic divalent surfactant on negatively charged silica. The adsorption isotherms, which have been obtained by means of null ellipsometry, have been determined both in the absence and in the presence of added salt. In order to rationalize the data, we resort to thermodynamic modeling. Two models are used. In one, the adsorbed surfactant is assumed to form spherical micelles at the silica surface. In the other, the surfactant is adsorbed as a bilayer. Both approaches are treated using the Poisson–Boltzmann equation. Calculations show that the model based on spherical aggregates is capable of producing adsorption isotherms resembling the experimentally determined ones. The resemblance is not quantitative, and possible reasons for the deviations are discussed, most notably the assumption used in the model that the micellar surface charge density is not allowed to adapt to the charge density of the silica surface. The bilayer model fails to describe the experimentally obtained adsorption isotherms.     

Experimental studies on the adsorption of two surfactants on solid-aqueous interfaces: adsorption isotherms and kinetics

A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) was used to measure the adsorption from aqueous solutions of CTAB (cationic) and C(12)E(6) (nonionic) surfactants on gold and silica surfaces. QCM-D allows for the determination of adsorption isotherms and also the monitoring of the dynamics of adsorption in real time. By considering the atomic-scale roughness of the solid surfaces and the surface area per head group at the air/water interface, our experiments indicate that at bulk concentrations above the critical micelle concentration adsorbed C(12)E(6) forms a monolayer-like structure on both surfaces and CTAB yields a bilayer-like structure. Although our measurements do not allow us to discriminate between the morphology of the aggregates (i.e., between flat monolayers, hemicylinders, or hemispheres in the case of C(12)E(6) and between flat bilayers, cylinders, or spheres in the case of CTAB), these results are particularly significant when compared to recent QCM-D data reported by Macakova et al. (Macakova, L.; Blomberg, E.; Claesson, P. M. Langmuir 2007, 23, 12436). These authors reported that QCM-D overestimates the amount of CTAB adsorbed on silica by as much as 30-40% as a result of entrapped water. Our analysis suggests that the effect of entrapped solvent is not as important as previously assumed and, in fact, QCM-D may not overestimate the amount of CTAB adsorbed when roughness is considered. Results for the kinetics of adsorption suggest that the aggregate structure as well as whether micelles are present may influence the adsorption mechanism. We discuss our results in the perspective of molecular theories for both the equilibrium and kinetics of surfactant adsorption.     

Adsorption behavior of hydrophobin and hydrophobin/surfactant mixtures at the air-water interface

The adsorption of the surface-active protein hydrophobin, HFBII, and the competitive adsorption of HFBII with the cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, and hexaethylene monododecyl ether, C(12)E(6), has been studied using neutron reflectivity, NR. HFBII adsorbs strongly at the air-water interface to form a dense monolayer ～30 ? thick, with a mean area per molecule of ～400 ?(2) and a volume fraction of ～0.7, for concentrations greater than 0.01 g/L, and the adsorption is independent of the solution pH. In competition with the conventional surfactants CTAB, SDS, and C(12)E(6) at pH 7, the HFBII adsorption totally dominates the surface for surfactant concentrations less than the critical micellar concentration, cmc. Above the cmc of the conventional surfactants, HFBII is displaced by the surfactant (CTAB, SDS, or C(12)E(6)). For C(12)E(6) this displacement is only partial, and some HFBII remains at the surface for concentrations greater than the C(12)E(6) cmc. At low pH (pH 3) the patterns of adsorption for HFBII/SDS and HFBII/C(12)E(6) are different. At concentrations just below the surfactant cmc there is now mixed HFBII/surfactant adsorption for both SDS and C(12)E(6). For the HFBII/SDS mixture the structure of the adsorbed layer is more complex in the region immediately below the SDS cmc, resulting from the HFBII/SDS complex formation at the interface.