Wetting characteristics of aqueous rhamnolipids solutions

The wetting properties of surfactants on solid surfaces form the basis of many industrial and biological processes. The preferential adsorption of the surfactants from aqueous solutions onto solid surfaces alter the adhesion tension of the surface and this behavior may cause partial to complete wetting of the surfaces by the aqueous surfactant solutions. However, different types of surfactants show different wetting characteristics. To study the wetting properties of biologically produced rhamnolipids (RL), advancing contact angles of the aqueous solutions of the RL mixture of R1 and R2 in a ratio of R2/R1=1.1 were measured as a function of surfactant concentration. For a comparison of the wetting performance, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was chosen as the reference surfactant. A hydrophilic glass surface, a hydrophobic polymer, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and gold surface were used as the solid surfaces to determine the wetting characteristics of rhamnolipids. At low surfactant concentrations (RL concentration <3x10(-5)M, SDS concentration<3x10(-4)M) contact angle (Theta) varied in a certain range depending on the character of the surfactant interactions with the surface. This was followed by a decrease in contact angle. Parallel to this behavior, at low surfactant concentrations the adhesion tension decreased, then remained constant and an increase at higher surfactant concentrations was obtained on hydrophobic surfaces. On hydrophilic surfaces a steady decrease in adhesion tension was observed with both surfactant solutions.     

UV-Vis and Surface Photovoltage Spectra of Fe2O3/Polystyrene Composite Microspheres

IntroductionIn recentyears,there has been a general inter-est in the encapsulation of inorganic particles withorganic polymers[1] . This kind of composite parti-cles consists of an inorganic core and a polymershell[2 ] .The aim of the encapsulation is to improvethe physical properties of products,and to meetthe development of new materials having a highfunctionality in the fields such as biology,medicine,pharmacology and electronics etc.[3 ,4 ] .The encapsulation of oxide nanoparticles witha p…     

Study on the distribution of binary mixed counterions in surfactant adsorbed films by total reflection XAFS measurements

The total reflection X-ray absorption fine structure (TR-XAFS) technique was applied to adsorbed films at the surface of aqueous solutions of surfactant mixtures composed of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and dodecyltrimethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (DTABF₄). The obtained XAFS spectra were expressed as linear combinations of two specific spectra corresponding to fully hydrated bromide ions (free-Br) and partially dehydrated bromide ions adsorbed to the hydrophilic groups of surfactant ions (bound-Br) at the surface. The ratio of free- and bound-Br ions was determined as a function of surface tension and surface composition of the surfactants. Taking also the results in our previous studies on the DTAB - dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (HMIMBr) - 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (HMIMBF₄) mixed systems into consideration, the relation between counterion distribution and miscibility of counterions at the solution surface was deduced for the surfactant mixtures having common surfactant ions but different counterions.     

支链化甜菜碱和阳离子表面活性剂在聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯表面的吸附及其润湿性质

利用座滴法研究了两性离子表面活性剂支链十六烷基(聚氧乙烯)_n醚羟丙基羧酸甜菜碱(n = 0, 3)和阳离子表面活性剂支链十六烷基(聚氧乙烯)_n醚羟丙基季铵盐溶液在聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)表面上的润湿性质,考察了表面活性剂类型、结构及浓度对接触角的影响趋势。研究发现,表面活性剂浓度低于临界胶束浓度(cmc)时,分子通过氢键以平躺的方式吸附到PMMA界面,亲水基团靠近固体界面, PMMA表面被轻微疏水化;表面张力和粘附张力同时降低,导致此阶段接触角随浓度变化不大。浓度高于cmc时,表面活性剂通过疏水作用吸附,亲水基团在外, PMMA表面被明显亲水改性,接触角随浓度升高显著降低。由于具有相同的支链烷基,表面活性剂类型变化和聚氧乙烯基团的引入对接触角影响不大。     

Chemical potential of a nonionic surfactant in solution

The chemical potential of a surfactant in solution can be calculated from the Gibbs adsorption equation when the surface excess of the surfactant and the surface tension of the solution as a function of surfactant concentration are known. We have investigated a solution of the nonionic surfactant 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) in the polar solvent 3-hydroxypropionitrile at concentrations below and above the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Neutral impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy was applied for the direct measurement of the surface excess of POPC as a function of concentration. The Gibbs adsorption equation was applied in conjunction with surface tension measurements to evaluate the chemical potential and the activity coefficients of POPC, respectively. We find that the solution shows ideal behavior up to the cmc and that the chemical potential remains constant at concentrations larger than the cmc.     

Adsorption of multiple ammonium salts at the air/solution interface

The interfacial behavior of aqueous solutions of newly synthesized bis- and tris-ammonium salts (i.e., bis[2-hydroxy-3-(dodecyldimethylammonio)propyl]alkylamine dichlorides and bis[2-hydroxy-3-(dodecyldimethylammonio)propyl]dialkylammmonium trichlorides, respectively) was analyzed, both experimentally and theoretically. The dynamic and equilibrium surface tension of multiple ammonium salt solutions was measured by using a pendant drop shape analysis method. The determined surface tension isotherms indicated the lack of significant differences in surface activity between bis- and tris-ammonium salts, contrary to the expectations for divalent and trivalent surfactant ions. That effect was explained by assuming the formation of multiple surfactant ion-counterion associates. Taking into account the association process, a good correlation between experimental data and theoretical predictions was obtained by means of the "surface quasi two-dimensional electrolyte" (STDE) model of ionic surfactant adsorption. The degree of association necessary to explain the lack of difference in surface activity between bis- and tris-ammonium salts was in quantitative agreement with the results of measurements of the concentration of free chloride anions in the surfactant solution.     

正负离子表面活性剂与两性表面活性剂的相互作用

本文研究正负离子表面活性剂与两性表面活性剂混合水溶液的表面性质, 以及两性表面活性剂对正负离子裘面活性剂溶解度的影响。结果表明: (1) 两性表面活性剂的加溶作用,有助于正负离子表面活性剂的溶解; (2) 加入两性表面活性剂的量适当, 混合溶液基本保持原正负离子表面活性剂的表面活性; (3) 正负离子表面活性剂与两性表面活性剂在表面层和胶团中分子间的相互作用比正负离子表面活性剂与非离子表面活性剂分子间的相互作用稍强HC-FC正负; 离子表面活性剂与两性表面活性剂混合体系在表面层中有可能形成双分子或多分子层结构。     

Surfactant and electric field strength effects on surface tension at liquid/liquid/solid interfaces

We performed a series of experiments designed to elucidate the effects of the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant and an applied electrical field on the wetting behavior in a system containing a sessile droplet of phenylmethyl polysiloxane (PMPS) oil on a polished stainless steel surface submersed in aqueous solution. The voltage difference ranged from -3 to +3 V, which is at least 3 orders of magnitude smaller than from comparable recent work. We report the measured equilibrium contact angle of the droplet as a function of surfactant concentration and field strength. We then modeled the system. We solved the Laplace equation to obtain the 3D field within our system. We expanded the three surface tensions (oil droplet-aqueous solution (oa), oil droplet-metal surface (os), and aqueous solution-metal surface (as)) in a Taylor series with respect to surfactant concentration and local field strength. We use these three surface tensions in Young's equation to obtain the theoretical contact angle of the organic droplet. We demonstrate that the large changes in contact angle due to the simultaneous presence of small concentrations of surfactant and small voltage differences can be accounted for by changes in the oa and as surface tensions.     

The Hofmeister series effect in adsorption of cationic surfactants--theoretical description and experimental results

Interfacial properties of cationic surfactants show strong dependence on the type of surfactant counterion or on the type of anion of a salt added to the surfactant solution. In the paper, the models of ionic surfactant adsorption that can take into account ionic specific effects are reviewed. Model of ionic surfactant adsorption based on the assumption that the surfactant ions and counterions undergo nonequivalent adsorption within the Stern layer was selected to describe experimental surface tension isotherms of aqueous solutions of a number of cationic surfactants. The experimental isotherms for: n-alkyl trimethylammonium cationic surfactants, namely: C(16)TABr (CTABr or CTAB), C(16)TACl, C(16)TAHSO(4), C(10)TABr and C(12)TABr as well as decyl- and dodecylpyridinium salts with and without various electrolyte anions as Cl(-), Br(-), F(-), I(-), NO(3)(-), ClO(4)(-) and CH(3)COO(-) were described in terms of the model and a good agreement between the theory and experiment was obtained for a wide range of surfactants and added electrolyte concentrations. A very pronounced Hofmeister effect in dependence of surface tension of cationic surfactants on the type of anion was found. Analysing this dependence in terms of the proposed model of ionic surfactant adsorption, strong correlation between "anion surface activity" (the model parameter accounting for ion penetration into the Stern layer), and the ion polarizability was obtained. That suggests that the mechanism related to the dispersive interaction of polarized ion with electric field at interface is responsible for Hofmeister series effects in surface activity of cationic surfactants. The same mechanism was proposed recently to explain the dependence of surface tension increase with electrolyte concentration on anion and cation type.     

Dynamics of adsorption of an oppositely charged polymer-surfactant mixture at the air-water interface: poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) and sodium dodecyl sulfate

The dynamic adsorption behavior of mixtures of the cationic polymer poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) [poly(dmdaac)] and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been studied at the expanding liquid surface of an overflowing cylinder. A combination of ellipsometry and external reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the adsorbed amounts of poly(dmdaac) and SDS as a function of the bulk surfactant concentration for various polymer concentrations in the range 0-0.2 g dm-3. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to determine the surface age, which was approximately 1 s for solutions where the polymer adsorbed. The interfacial behavior is rationalized in terms of competition between surface activity and mass transport to the expanding surface. At low surfactant concentrations, adsorption of both poly(dmdaac) and SDS is enhanced as a result of the formation in solution of polymer-surfactant complexes that are more surface active than either component alone. The rate of adsorption of these complexes is diffusion-controlled, and their interfacial composition remains constant at three dmdaac units per SDS molecule over a 5-fold change in the surfactant concentration. For the higher polymer concentrations studied, the complexes saturate the air-water interface: the adsorbed amount is independent of the polymer concentration and remains constant also over a factor of 5 in the surfactant concentration. Once the number of bound surfactant molecules per dmdaac monomer exceeds 0.3, the complexes begin to form large aggregates, which are not surface active due to their slower mass transport. The adsorbed amount decreases rapidly on approach to the equivalence point (one SDS molecule per dmdaac monomer), and when it is reached, only a very small amount of material remains at the interface. At still higher surfactant concentrations, the free SDS adsorbs but there is no adsorbed poly(dmdaac). The dynamic adsorption data are compared with equilibrium measurements of the same system by Staples et al. (Langmuir 2002, 18, 5147), which show very different surface compositions and no significant change in surface coverage at the equivalence point.     

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) enhances dynamic surface activity of a bovine lipid extract surfactant (BLES)

Shortage or malfunction of pulmonary surfactant in alveolar space leads to a critical condition termed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Surfactant replacement therapy, the major method to treat RDS, is an expensive treatment. In this paper, the effect of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to improve dynamic surface activity of a bovine lipid extract surfactant (BLES) was studied by axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) and a captive bubble method. The activity of BLES+PEG mixtures was compared to that of a natural surfactant containing surfactant proteins A and D. When PEG was added into BLES mixtures, the surface tension hysteresis of BLES films was minimized when the films were compressed by more than 50%. PEG also helps to quickly restore surfactant films after film collapse. Thus, as far as surface tension effects go, the findings suggest that PEG might be used as a substitute for surfactant-associated protein SP-A in therapeutic surfactant products, and might also be used to reduce the amount of BLES required in clinical applications.     

Computational studies on the behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at TiO2(rutile)/water interfaces

Molecular dynamics simulations to study the behavior of an anionic surfactant close to TiO(2) surfaces were carried out where each surface was modeled using three different crystallographic orientations of TiO(2) (rutile), (001), (100) and (110). Even though all three surfaces were made with the same atoms the orientation was a key to determine adsorption since surfactant molecules aggregated in different ways. For instance, simulations on the surface (100) showed that the surfactant molecules formed a hemicylinder structure whereas the molecules on the surface (110) were attached to the solid by forming a hemisphere-like structure. Structure of the aggregated molecules and surfactant adsorption on the surfaces were studied in terms of tails and headgroups density profiles as well as surface coverage. From density profiles and angular distributions of the hydrocarbon chains it was possible to determine the influence of the solid surface. For instance, on surfaces (100) and (001) the surfactant molecules formed molecular layers parallel to the surface. Finally, it was found that in the solids (100) and (110) where there are oxygen atoms exposed on the surface the surfactant molecules were attached to the surfaces along the sites between the lines of these oxygen atoms.     

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).     

一种新型表面活性剂的表面活性的研究

采用表面张力法确定了新型表面活性剂3-对壬基苯氧基-2-羟丙基三甲基溴化 铵的临界胶束浓度(cmc)，并考察了盐度、温度和pH值对其cmc的影响。结果表明， 此种表面活性剂的表面活性较高，盐度对其cmc影响最大，其次是pH值，温度对其 cmc的影响较为复杂。理论计算结果表明，采用热力学函数可较好地解释试验结果 。     

Enhancing the electrochemiluminescence of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) by ionic surfactants

The dependence of the electrochemiluminescence of Ru(bpy)3(2+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) with tri-n-propylamine as co-reactant on the anionic surfactant SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and the cationic surfactants CTAX (CTA = cetyltrimethylammonium cation, X = bromide, chloride and hydrogensulfate) was studied. Both SDS and CTAX, at low surfactant concentrations below the critical micelle concentrations, enhance the electrochemiluminescence at a platinum working electrode. A further enhancement of the light emission intensity by bromide ions was observed when CTAB (B = bromide) was used-an overall 30-fold increase in electrochemiluminescence efficiency was obtained at a CTAB concentration of 0.08 mM. Voltammetric data support adsorption of surfactant molecules on the electrode surface as the cause of the enhancement of electrochemiluminescence by ionic surfactants.     

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.     

Solvent effect on the aggregate of fluorinated gemini surfactant at silica surface

The aggregate states of partially fluorinated gemini surfactant [(CF3)2CF(CF2)2(CH2)10N(CH3)2]2(CH2)6Br2 (C(F)(5)C10-C6-C10C(F)(5)) on silica surface were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle (CA) measurement by analyzing the effects of bulk concentration and adsorption time on stack state. On surfactant-adsorbed silica surfaces, there was a flat surface layer interspersed with some scattering surfactant aggregates. In the case of short adsorption times, the aggregates would be hemisphere. In the case of long adsorption times, the aggregates would be present in the form of bilayers. With the increase of bulk concentration, the adsorbed amount was enlarged and the surface layer became more compact. The formation of patchy bilayer aggregates indicated the saturation of the surface layer. Furthermore, organic solvent effects on the aggregate state of the surfactant on a silica surface were studied with four organic solvents, including n-hexane, dehydrated ethanol, 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, and toluene. With the treatment of different organic solvents, the hemisphere aggregates on the surface layer can rearrange into spherical bilayer, rodlike monolayer, and branched rodlike monolayer aggregates, respectively. The polarity of solvents and affinity of organic solvents for surfactant molecules may have a great impact on the stack state of the fluorinated gemini surfactant molecules.     

Spontaneous imbibition of surfactant solution into an oil-wet capillary: wettability restoration by surfactant-contaminant complexation

For a given type of rock, the effectiveness of oil recovery through wettability alteration is highly dependent upon the nature of the water-soluble surfactant used. Different mechanisms have been proposed by others to explain wettability alteration by surfactants, and understanding the process is crucial to improve recovery performance. Known mechanisms include (1) surfactant adsorption onto the oil-wet solid surface (coating mechanism) and (2) surfactant molecules complexing with contaminant molecules from the crude oil which are adsorbed on the rock surface so as to strip them off (cleaning mechanism). With the second mechanism, the wettability is restored by lifting the contaminant layer away, exposing the rock surface which was originally water-wet. We previously focused on the numerical modeling of the surfactant coating mechanism (Hammond and Unsal Langmuir2009, 25, 12591; 2010, 26, 6206), and we now present a numerical study for the cleaning process. Our new model shows that when a wettability altering surfactant solution is allowed to imbibe spontaneously and acts by the cleaning process, the meniscus advances more rapidly than when there was wettability alteration by coating alone. In our previous model there was a concentration threshold below which imbibition was not possible. That threshold arose because a finite amount of surfactant needs to be adsorbed onto the oil-wet surface to change the contact angle to a water-wet value, but the maximum amount that can be absorbed is limited by the requirement that it be in equilibrium with the surfactant concentration near the meniscus. In the new model, with the cleaning mechanism there is no such threshold, since the cleaning process is driven by the surfactant flux into the vicinity of the advancing meniscus rather than the surfactant concentration there. As long as there are surfactant molecules present in the aqueous solution, the flux is nonzero and molecule pairs can form and alter the wettability by removing the contaminant from the oil-wet surface. However, under very low surfactant concentrations, the process is extremely slow compared to at higher concentrations.     

Thermodynamic Analysis of Trisiloxane Surfactant Adsorption and Aggregation Processes

The trisiloxane polyether surfactant (3-[3-(hydroxy)(polyethoxy)propyl]-1,1,1,3,5,5,5 -heptamethyltrisiloxane) (TS-EO12) was successfully synthesized by a hydrosilylation reaction in the presence of Karstedt catalyst. The structural analysis of the surfactant was done by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, ²⁹Si-NMR and FT-IR analysis. In addition the thermal stability of TS-EO12 was studied by the thermogravimetric measurements. On the one hand the surface properties of TS-EO12 at the water-air interface were investigated by surfactant aqueous solutions surface tension measurements carried out at 293 K, 303 K and 313 K, and on the other the aggregation properties were analyzed based on the solubilization properties of TS-EO12 aggregates at different temperatures. On the basis of the obtained thermodynamic parameters of adsorption and micellization of studied surfactant the temperature impact on its surface and volume properties were deduced. It was proved that the tendency of the studied surfactant molecules to adsorb at the water-air interface and to form micelles weakens with decreasing temperature. It was also concluded that the structure of the adsorption layer changes with temperature. Optical microscopy measurements were used for the TS-EO12 micelle morphology determination.     

Investigation of the electrokinetic properties of paraffin suspension. 2. In cationic and anionic surfactant solutions

Electrical phenomena at nonionogenic hydrophobic surfaces (solid or liquid) in water, electrolyte, and/or surfactant solutions still attract research. In part 1 of this paper we described the electrokinetic behavior of paraffin wax suspension in water and electrolyte solutions (NaCl or LaCl3). On the basis of the latest data of water structure near hydrophobic surfaces it was concluded that immobilized water dipoles at the interface can play an essential role in the zeta potential formation. In this paper were investigated the zeta potentials of paraffin wax in cationic surfactants cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, C16H33(CH3)3NBr, and octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride, C18H37(CH3)3NCl, and anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, C12H25SO4Na. Also changes in wettability of the paraffin surface due to the surfactant's adsorption were studied via wetting contact angle measurements and calculation of the surface free energy. It was concluded that at a low surfactant concentration (10(-6) M) the water dipole structure still contributes to the zeta potential, but at a higher one the zeta potential is determined by the surfactant molecules' adsorption. A special role of OH- ions is also clearly seen. Moreover, a functional relationship was found between the surface free energy of the surfactant-covered paraffin surface and the zeta potential.