Effect of counterion substitution on the viscosity anomaly in AOT microemulsions

AOT-based water-in-oil microemulsions display an anomalous maximum in the viscosity with X, the water to surfactant ratio. Several explanations for this phenomenon have been offered. In this work, we investigate viscosity and droplet interactions in Ca(AOT)(2)/water/n-decane and KAOT/water/n-decane microemulsions and compare our results with the commonly studied NaAOT/water/oil system. The Ca(AOT)(2) system demonstrates a maximum in relative viscosity and droplet attraction near X=15, similar to the NaAOT system, although the maximum occurs at a higher value of X in the Ca(AOT)(2) system. By contrast, the viscosity and interparticle interactions in the KAOT system do not strongly depend on the amount of water in the system. We attribute the differences in behavior between the two systems to different hydration characteristics of the counterion, and we believe that our results are consistent with a previously proposed model that attributes interdroplet attractions to charge fluctuations and surfactant exchange. Our findings support the connection between the viscosity anomaly and interparticle interactions.     

Mesoporous Silica Materials Synthesized via Sol-Gel Methods Modified with Ionic Liquid and Surfactant Molecules

Mesoporous silica materials were synthesized via a sol-gel method employing a room temperature ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, bmimBF4) as a new solvent medium and further modified with surfactant (hexadecyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide, CTAB) as a pore templating material. The synthesized samples were characterized by the transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The results indicated that the mesoporous silica synthesized by using bmimBF4 and CTAB as mixed templates showed better mesostructural order and smaller pore size, compared with mesoporous silica materials synthesized by using single bmimBF4 as template under the same conditions. This indicates that the presence of surfactant can affect the microstructures of silica prepared by the present synthesis method.     

Gas–liquid mass transfer in the presence of ionic surfactant: effect of counter‐ions and interfacial turbulence

This work investigated the effect of counter‐ions and interfacial turbulence on oxygen transfer from gas to liquid phase containing ionic surfactant, and experiments were performed in a mechanically stirred reactor with flat gas–liquid interface. Counter‐ions in terms of hydration ability and polarizability influence the interfacial coverage of ionic surfactants (i.e. cetytrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetytrimethylammonium chloride) with the same hydrocarbon chain length, producing hindrance but in different extent on oxygen transfer. The addition of electrolyte (NH₄Br) substantially reduced the interfacial tension and surface charge of micelles (zeta potential) in CTAB system, and this salt effect greatly compressed interfacial double layer leading to gas transfer inhibition. The surface charge, aggregation number as well as stability of micelles formed above the critical micelle concentration could also alter interfacial configuration of surfactant layer reflected by gas absorption rate. Liquid turbulence was analyzed to decide the role of surfactant present in water on gas–liquid mass transfer, since Marangoni instability effect playing positive role should be taken into consideration under moderate liquid flow, while in turbulent system, contribution of Marangoni effect became overshadowed and consequently surfactant pose ‘barrier’ effect on gas transfer due to its surface active nature. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of solubilized water in the reverse ionic liquid microemulsion of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/benzene

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) can form nonaqueous microemulsions with benzene by the aid of nonionic surfactant TX-100. The effect of water on ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O) microemulsions was studied, and it was shown that the addition of small amount of water to the IL microemulsion contributed to the stability of microemulsion and thus increased the amount of solubilized bmimBF4 in the microemulsion. The conductivity measurements also showed that the attractive interactions between IL microdroplets were weakened, that is, the IL/O microemulsion becomes more stable in the present of some water. Fourier transform IR was carried out to analyze the states of the added water, and the result showed that these water molecules mainly behaved as bound water and trapped water, indicating that the water molecules are located in the palisade layers of the IL/O microemulsion. Furthermore, 1H NMR and 19F NMR spectra suggested that the added water molecules built the hydrogen binding network of imidazolium cations and H2O, BF4- anion and H2O, and at the same time the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene units of TX-100 and water in the palisade layers, which made the palisade layers more firm and thus increased the stability of the microemulsion. The study can help in further understanding the formation mechanism of microemulsions. In addition, the characteristic solubilization behavior of the added water can provide an aqueous interface film for hydrolysis reactions and therefore may be used as an ideal medium to prepare porous or hollow nanomaterials.     

Micelle formation of nonionic surfactants in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: surfactant chain length dependence of the critical micelle concentration

Micellization behavior was investigated for polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants with varying chain length (C(n)E(m)) in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)). Critical micelle concentration (cmc) was determined from the variation of (1)H NMR chemical shift with the surfactant concentration. The logarithmic value of cmc decreased linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the surfactant hydrocarbon chain, similarly to the case observed in aqueous surfactant solutions. However, the slope of the straight line is much smaller in bmimBF(4) than in aqueous solution. Thermodynamic parameters for micelle formation estimated from the temperature dependence of cmc showed that the micellization in bmimBF(4) is an entropy-driven process around room temperature. This behavior is also similar to the case in aqueous solution. However, the magnitude of the entropic contribution to the overall micellization free energy in bmimBF(4) is much smaller compared with that in aqueous solution. These results suggest that the micellization in bmimBF(4) proceeds through a mechanism similar to the hydrophobic interaction in aqueous surfactant solutions, although the solvophobic effect in bmimBF(4) is much weaker than the hydrophobic effect.     

离子液体在多水相液液平衡体系中的作用

通过用短链离子液体(1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑溴盐[C2mim]Br、1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑溴盐[C4mim]Br)部分或全部取代SDS/DTAB/PEG/NaBr/H2O多水相体系中的无机盐NaBr,用长链离子液体十二烷基-3-甲基咪唑溴盐[C12mim]Br部分取代体系中阳离子表面活性剂DTAB,系统研究了离子液体在分相体系中的作用及其对分相体系性质的影响.研究表明,SDS/DTAB/PEG/NaBr/H2O混合体系形成的四水相体系可以看作"聚合物双水相"与"表面活性剂双水相"共存的结果.短链离子液体([C2mim]Br、[C4mim]Br)较强的亲水性能赋予其较强的盐析能力,在混合体系中表现出明显的盐效应,保证了四水相体系中"聚合物双水相"的存在.短链离子液体与聚合物之间的相互作用及其对表面活性剂之间相互作用的影响均不可忽略.对混合体系的相行为,共存多相的性质有重要的影响.而长链离子液体[C12mim]Br主要通过自身的疏水作用影响"表面活性剂双水相"的性质,充当表面活性剂的角色.然而,[C12mim]Br与DTAB分子结构上的差异,导致表面活性剂分子在"表面活性剂双水相"的两相重新分配,影响了对应两相的体积及萃取能力.可见,通过调节离子液体的烷基链长、混合体系中的含量等可获得具有特定性质的多水相体系.     

Effect of ionic surfactants on the phase behavior and structure of sucrose ester/water/oil systems

The phase behavior and structure of sucrose ester/water/oil systems in the presence of long-chain cosurfactant (monolaurin) and small amounts of ionic surfactants was investigated by phase study and small angle X-ray scattering. In a water/sucrose ester/monolaurin/decane system at 27 degrees C, instead of a three-phase microemulsion, lamellar liquid crystals are formed in the dilute region. Unlike other systems in the presence of alcohol as cosurfactant, the HLB composition does not change with dilution, since monolaurin adsorbs almost completely in the interface. The addition of small amounts of ionic surfactant, regardless of the counterion, increases the solubilization of water in W/O microemulsions. The solubilization on oil in O/W microemulsions is not much affected, but structuring is induced and a viscous isotropic phase is formed. At high ionic surfactant concentrations, the single-phase microemulsion disappears and liquid crystals are favored.     

离子选择电极法测定胶团的反离子结合度

胶团的反离子结合度(K)对于胶团各种性质的研究是一个至关重要的参数^[1～3]。已有不少方法用于K值的测定,其中以离子选择电极法最为方便^[4～8],且此法赋予K值的含义也与热力学要求相同^[9]。     

Microregion detection of ionic liquid microemulsions

Nonaqueous ionic liquid (IL) microemulsion consisting of IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)), surfactant TX-100, and toluene was prepared and the phase behavior of the ternary system was investigated. Electrical conductivity measurement was used for investigating the microregions of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions. On the basis of the percolation theory, the bmimBF(4)-in-toluene (IL/O), bicontinuous, and toluene-in-bmimBF(4) (O/IL) microregions of the microemulsions were successfully identified using insulative toluene as the titration phase. However, this method was invalid when conductive bmimBF(4) acted as the titration phase. The microregions obtained by conductivity measurements were further proved by electrochemical cyclic voltammetry experiments. The results indicated that the conductivity method was feasible for identifying microstructures of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions.     

Clouding phenomenon and SANS studies on tetra-n-butylammonium dodecylsulfate micellar solutions in the absence and presence of salts

Clouding phenomenon in aqueous micellar solutions of an anionic surfactant tetra-n-butylammonium dodecylsulfate (TBADS) has been observed as a function of surfactant concentration. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments in these systems show clustering of micelles as the temperature approaches the cloud point (CP). The individual micelles and the clusters of micelles coexist at CP. The clustering of micelles depends on the surfactant concentration and temperature. It is proposed that clustering is due to depletion of H-bonded water present around the butyl chains at the micellar surface. This is associated with entropy gain which is considered to be the major thermodynamic factor related to micellar aggregation. The structures (clusters) that emerge depend on the relative lengths of the alkyl chains of the counterion and can be tuned by the temperature.     

Decrease of droplet size of the reverse microemulsion 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/Triton X-100/cyclohexane by addition of water

In the present contribution, results concerning the role of small amounts of water in the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4)-in-cyclohexane ionic liquid (IL) reverse microemulsions are reported. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed that the size of microemulsion droplets decreased remarkably with increasing water content although water is often used as a polar component to swell reverse microemulsions. It was thus deduced that the number of microemulsion droplets was increased which was confirmed by conductivity measurements. The states of dissolved water were investigated by Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis showing that water molecules mainly act as bound water. 1H NMR along with two-dimensional rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) experiments (ROESY) further revealed that water molecules were mainly located in the periphery of the polar core of the microemulsion droplets and behave like a chock being inserted in the palisade layer of the droplet. This increased the curvature of the surfactant film at the IL/cyclohexane interface and thus led to the decrease of the microemulsion droplet size. The order of surfactant molecules arranged in the interface film was increased and thus induced a loss of entropy. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) indicated that an enthalpy increase compensates for the loss of entropy during the process of microstructural transition.     

Evidence of a phase transition in water-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and water-1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate mixtures at 298 K: determination of the surface thermal coefficient, bT,P

We studied the aggregation behavior of two short-chain room-temperature ionic liquids. Previous surface tension studies have shown that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)) aggregates in water. We observed the same behavior for another ionic liquid, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bdmimBF(4)). We carried out a thermodynamic study of the mixtures between water and the two butylimidazolium salts to investigate this unusual behavior for cations with short chains by determining the surface thermal coefficient, b(T,P). Plotting b(T,P) as a function of the molar fraction (X) of the two salts showed a clear discontinuity at X = 0.016 for bmimBF(4) and X = 0.004 for bdmimBF(4). This discontinuity could be attributed to a transition such as an aggregation.     

Self-assembly and influence of the organic counterion in the ternary systems dodecylamine/acrylic acid/water and dodecylamine/methacrylic acid/water

Due to complete proton transfer from the acid to the amine, a reaction between an equimolar mixture of dodecylamine and (meth)acrylic acid leads to the formation of dodecylammonium (meth)acrylate. The latter can be considered as a surfactant with a polymerizable organic counterion. The ternary phase diagrams of the two systems dodecylamine/acrylic acid/water and dodecylamine/methacrylic acid/water are described. Both systems can form isotropic solutions and lyotropic liquid crystalline lamellar phases. Moreover, the system with the methacrylate counterion can also form a cubic phase in the water-rich part of the phase diagram. The difference in the self-organization observed for the two systems is explained by the greater bulkiness and hydrophobicity of the methacrylate. Whereas the acrylate counterion behaves rather like a classic inorganic counterion, the methacrylate counterion resides in the outermost part of the aggregates, giving rise to a change in the surface curvature.     

Counterion binding behaviour of micelles of sodium dodecyl sulphate and bile salts in the pure state,in mutually mixed states and mixed with a nonionic surfactant

The counterion binding behaviour of micelles of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and several bile salts in the pure state have been studied, as well as in mutually mixed states, and in a mixed state with polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (PSML) as a nonionic surfactant. Electrochemical measurements have shown no counterion binding by the pure bile salt micelles and their mixtures with PSML; they can bind counterions when mixed with SDS, whereas the surfactant anions of SDS micelles bind counterions in the pure state and/or in mixed states with PSML. In the SDS-PSML and SDS-bile salts combinations, the counterion association is decreased by the increased proportions of the second component. The extent of counterion binding by the different systems is presented.     

Structural studies of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/ p-xylene ionic liquid microemulsions.

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) forms nonaqueous microemulsions with p-xylene, with the aid of the nonionic surfactant TX-100. The phase behavior of the ternary system is investigated, and three microregions of the microemulsions-ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O), bicontinuous, and oil-in-ionic liquid (O/IL)-are identified by conductivity measurements, according to percolation theory. On the basis of a phase diagram, a series of IL/O microemulsions are chosen and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The size of aggregates increases on increasing the amount of added polar component (bmimBF(4)), which is a similar phenomenon to that observed for typical water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions, suggesting the formation of IL/O microemulsions. The microstructural characteristics of the microemulsions are investigated by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The results indicate that the interaction between the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene (OE) units in TX-100 and the electropositive imidazolium ring may be the driving force for the solubilization of bmimBF4 into the core of the TX-100 aggregates. In addition, the micropolarity of the microemulsions is investigated by using methyl orange (MO) as a UV/Vis spectroscopic probe. A relatively constant polarity of the microemulsion droplets is obtained in the IL microemulsion. Finally, a plausible structure for the IL/O microemulsion is presented.     

Phase behavior in mixtures of cationic and anionic surfactants in aqueous solutions

Phase behavior of cationic/anionic surfactant mixtures of the same chain length (n=10, 12 or 14) strongly depends on the molar ratio and actual concentration of the surfactants. Precipitation of catanionic surfactant and mixed micelles formation are observed over the concentration range investigated. Coacervate and liquid crystals are found to coexist in the transition region from crystalline catanionic surfactant to mixed micelles.The addition of oppositely charged surfactant diminishes the surface charge density at the mixed micelle/solution interface and enhances the apparent degree of counterion dissociation from mixed micelles. Cationic surfactants have a greater tendency to be incorporated in mixed micelles than anionic ones.     

Facile Synthesis of Ureas in Ionic Liquid

The urea functional group is of importance in a wide range of biological compounds such as enzyme inhibitors1 and pseudopeptides2. Substituted ureas are widely applied in fine chemical industry, especially pesticides3 and pharmaceuticals4. Many investigations have been made to search for an efficient and practical method to synthesize ureas. The typical procedure for the synthesis of ureas is treating isocyanates with primary or secondary amines in organic solvents5. In the presence of trans…     

Aggregation behavior of long-chain ionic liquids in an ionic liquid

The aggregation behavior of long-chain ionic liquids 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (C(n)mimBr) in another ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)), was studied for the first time. Surface tension measurements revealed that aggregates are formed by C(n)mimBr, and freeze fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF-TEM) observations suggested the aggregates are spheres with a size much larger than traditional micelles. The sizes of the aggregates were further confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements.     

Fourier transform infrared investigation on the state of water in reverse micelles of quaternary ammonium gemini surfactants C12-s-C(12).2Br in n-heptane

The state of water in the reverse micelles of C12-s-C(12).2Br homologues has been investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the solubilized water had four states: the quaternary ammonium head-group-bound, the Br--bound, the bulklike, and the free water. With increasing W0, the number of bulklike water per surfactant (nb) rapidly increased, which indicated swelling of the reverse micelle. The number of the head-bound water per surfactant (nN+) gradually increased. This was attributed to a reduction of the interfacial curvature, which permitted more water molecules to associate with the ionic heads of surfactants and also led to a part of n-hexanol being expelled from the interface and thus water filled up. Owing to the existence of n-hexanol in the interface, the head-bound water of the present system was smaller than that of AOT system at the same W0. The number of counterion-bound water per surfactant (nBr-) remained unchanged with W0. This was due to much smaller dissociation of the head of C12-2-C(12).2Br than that of AOT. With increasing s, unchanged nN+ is attributed to the comprehensive effects of enlarged head, which promotes the hydration, increased ionization degree, and reduced size of the water pool. Owing to increased ionization degree, nBr- increases with s.