THEORETICAL MODELING OF IONIC SURFACTANT ADSORPTION ON MINERAL OXIDE SURFACES

A model for the adsorption of ionic surfactants on oppositely charged solid surfaces of uniform charge density is developed. The model is based on the assumption that, on the solid surface, adsorbed surfactant monomers, monolayered and bilayered surfactant aggregates of different sizes and specifically adsorbing ions of added electrolyte constitute a mixture of hard discs. It means that only excluded area interactions between the surface discs are taken into account. To avoid a rapid two-dimensional condensation of the adsorbed surfactant the potential energy per molecule in the surface aggregates, which is a sum of chemical and electrostatic interactions, is assumed to decrease linearly with the increasing aggregate size. The electrostatic interactions of ionic species with the charged solid surface are described in terms of the Guy-Chapman theory of the double layer formation. The appropriate equations for adsorption isotherms of surfactant and electrolyte ions are derived and used to predict the experimental adsorption isotherms of DTAB on the precipitated silica at two different salt concentrations in the aqueous solution, On the basis of the obtained results the evolution of the adsorbed phase structure and the charge of silica particles with an increasing surface coverage is discussed.     

Adsorption of Cationic Surfactants on Silica Surface: 2. Comparison of Theory with Experiment

Possible application of the SCFA lattice model to describe the adsorption of ionic surfactants on the surface whose charge and potential can be changed under the effect of adsorbing surfactant was theoretically studied. Calculated isotherms of surfactant adsorption were compared with experimental adsorption isotherms of dodecylpyridinium chloride on silica. It was shown that, upon the adsorption of cationic surfactants on SiO₂, the ionization of silanol surface groups is enhanced and the surface charge increases. The used set of parameters suggesting the interaction between the aliphatic tails of surfactant molecules and the surface made it possible to reach good agreement with the experiment.     

Adsorption of cationic lipid bilayer onto flat silicon wafers: effect of ion nature and concentration

The effect of monovalent salt nature and concentration over a range of low ionic strengths (0-10 mM LiCl, NaCl, KCl, or CsCl) and at two different pH values (6.3 and 10.0) on adsorption of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB) bilayer fragments (BF) onto flat SiO(2) surfaces was systematically evaluated by means of in situ ellipsometry. High-affinity adsorption isotherms fitted by the Langmuir model indicated that adsorption maxima were consistent with bilayer deposition only around 10 mM monovalent salt at both pH values. In pure water, the mean thickness of the DODAB adsorbed layer was close to zero with bilayer deposition taking place only around 10 mM ionic strength. In the presence of 10 mM CsCl or LiCl, the highest and the lowest affinity constants for DODAB adsorption onto SiO(2) were, respectively, obtained consistently with the expected facility of cation exchange at the surface required for DODAB adsorption. The cation more tightly bound to the solid surface should be Li(+), which would present the largest resistance to displacement by the DODAB cation, whereas the less tightly bound cation should be Cs(+) due to its largest ionic radius and lowest charge density. In other words, DODAB adsorption proceeds in accordance with charge density on the solid surface, which depends on the nature and concentration of bound counterions as well as DODAB cation ability to displace them. AFM images show a very smooth DODAB film adsorbed onto the surface in situ with a large frequency of BF auto-association from their edges. The present results for flat surfaces entirely agree with previous data from our group for DODAB adsorption onto silica particles.     

Adsorption of organic molecules on silica surface

The adsorption behaviour of various organic adsorbates on silica surface is reviewed. Most of the structural information on silica is obtained from IR spectral data and from the characteristics of water present at the silica surface. Silica surface is generally embedded with hydroxy groups and ethereal linkages, and hence considered to have a negative charged surface prone to adsorption of electron deficient species. Adsorption isotherms of the adsorbates delineate the nature of binding of the adsorbate with silica. Aromatic compounds are found to involve the pi-cloud in hydrogen bonding with silanol OH group during adsorption. Cationic and nonionic surfactants adsorb on silica surface involving hydrogen bonding. Sometimes, a polar part of the surfactants also contributes to the adsorption process. Styryl pyridinium dyes are found to anchor on silica surface in flat-on position. On modification of the silica by treating with alkali, the adsorption behaviour of cationic surfactant or polyethylene glycol changes due to change in the characteristics of silica or modified silica surface. In case of PEG-modified silica, adsolubilization of the adsorbate is observed. By using a modified adsorption equation, hemimicellization is proposed for these dyes. Adsorptions of some natural macromolecules like proteins and nucleic acids are investigated to study the hydrophobic and hydrophilic binding sites of silica. Artificial macromolecules like synthetic polymers are found to be adsorbed on silica surface due to the interaction of the multifunctional groups of the polymers with silanols. Preferential adsorption of polar adsorbates is observed in case of adsorbate mixtures. When surfactant mixtures are considered to study competitive adsorption on silica surface, critical micelle concentration of individual surfactant also contributes to the adsorption isotherm. The structural study of adsorbed surface and the thermodynamics of adsorption are given some importance in this review.     

Adsorption Isotherms of Cetylpyridinium Chloride with Iron III Salts at Air/Water and Silica/Water Interfaces

The interaction of iron III salts and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) has been studied at the air/water and silica/water interfaces. The surface tension of cetylpyridinium chloride has been determined in aqueous solutions in the presence of iron III chloride and iron III nitrate at two constant pH values, namely, 3.5 and 1.2. It is shown that the surface tension of the cationic surfactant depends upon the ionic strength of the solution through the pH adjustment in the presence of the former salt but not in the presence of the latter. The effect of iron III nitrate on the surface tension of CPC is similar to that of potassium nitrate, indicating that the iron III various-hydrolyzed species do not interfere with the composition of the air/water interface. The competitive adsorption of iron III nitrate salt and the cationic surfactant at a silica/water interface was next investigated. The adsorption isotherms were determined at pH 3.5. It is shown that although the iron III ions, which were added to the silica dispersion in the presence of the cetylpyridinium ions, were strongly bound to the anionic surface sites, the surfactant ions are not salted out in the solution but remain in close vicinity of the silica surface. Conversely as the cationic surfactant is added first to the silica dispersion in the presence of the adsorbed iron III ions, the metal ions and the surfactant ions are both coadsorbed onto the silica surface. It is suggested that iron III hydrolyzed or free cations and the cationic surfactant molecules may not compete for the same adsorption sites onto the silica surface.     

Adsorption of different amphiphilic molecules onto polystyrene latices

In order to know the influence of the surface characteristics and the chain properties on the adsorption of amphiphilic molecules onto polystyrene latex, a set of experiments to study the adsorption of ionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants and an amphiphilic synthetic peptide on different latex dispersions was performed. The adsorbed amount versus the equilibrium surfactant concentration was determined. The main adsorption mechanism was the hydrophobic attraction between the nonpolar tail of the molecule and the hydrophobic regions of the latex surface. This attraction overcame the electrostatic repulsion between chains and latex surface with identical charge sign. However, the electrostatic interactions chain-surface and chain-chain also played a role. General patterns for the adsorption of ionic chains on charged latex surfaces could be established. Regarding the shape, the isotherms presented different plateaus corresponding to electrostatic effects and conformational changes. The surfactant size also affects the adsorption results: the higher the hydrophilic moiety in the surfactant molecule the lower the adsorbed amount.     

Adsorption of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide at the silica gel/water interface

The adsorption isotherms of cetyltrimethylammonium ion (CTA+) together with that of the Br counterion on silica gel, and the effects of pH and added salts (NaF, NaCl and NaBr) have been systematically determined at 25°C. Electrophoretic mobilities of the silica gel particles have also been measured in the same conditions. The adsorption isotherm of CTA⁺ consists of four regions. Region I, at low concentrations of surfactant, the adsorption results primarily from electrostatic force between CTA⁺ and the negatively charged silica surface. Region II (first plateau), at medium concentrations, the adsorption is due to both the electrostatic force and the specific attraction (vdW forces) between CTA⁺ and the surface. Region III, characterized by an abrupt increase in the slope of the isotherm when the concentration reaches a particular point known as hemimicelle concentration (HMC). The abrupt increase in the adsorption is due to the hydrophobic interaction between hydrocarbon chains. Region IV (second plateau), at or above CMC, the limiting adsorption is reached as the micelle is not adsorbed. Based on this model, the experimental results can be explained reasonably. The results show that the HMC is about half of the CMC. According to the assumption that each adsorbed CTA⁺ ion in the first plateau is an active center for surface aggregation, the average aggregation number of hemimicelle have been calculated.     

Adsorption of a cationic surfactant onto cellulosic fibers I. Surface charge effects

The adsorption of four cationic surfactants with different alkyl chain lengths on cellulose substrates was investigated. Cellulose fibers were used as model substrates, and primary alcohol groups of cellulose glycosyl units were oxidized into carboxylic groups to obtain substrates with different surface charges. The amount of surfactant adsorbed on the fiber surface, the fiber zeta-potential, and the amount of surfactant counterions (Cl(-)) released into solution were measured as a function of the surfactant bulk concentration, its molecular structure, the substrate surface charge, and the ionic strength. The contribution of each of these parameters to the shape of the adsorption isotherms was used to verify if surfactant adsorption and self-assembly models usually used to describe the behavior of surfactant/oxide systems can be applied, and with which limitations, to describe cationic surfactant adsorption onto oppositely charged cellulose substrates.     

Adsorption of Cationic Surfactants on Silica Surface: 1. Adsorption Isotherms and Surface Charge

Adsorption isotherms of cationic surfactant, dodecylpyridinium chloride, on an Aerosil OX50 and isotherms of surface charge against the background of 0.001- and 0.1-M KCl solutions at pH 7 and 9 were measured and analyzed. Different forms of adsorption isotherms of surfactants at low and high electrolyte concentrations are explained from differences in the formation of the surface charge of Aerosil. Comparison of the isotherms of surfactant adsorption and surface charge allowed us to make conclusions about the surfactant orientation and structure of an adsorption layer, as well as to determine the fraction of surfactant molecules in the first and second adsorption layers.     

A combined streaming-potential optical reflectometer for studying adsorption at the water/solid surface

A novel in-situ streaming-potential optical reflectometry apparatus (SPOR) was constructed and utilized to probe the molecular architecture of aqueous adsorbates on a negatively charged silica surface. By combining optical reflectometry and electrokinetic streaming potentials, we measure simultaneously the adsorption density, gamma, and zeta potential, zeta, in a rectangular flow cell constructed with one transparent wall. Both dynamic and equilibrium measurements are possible, allowing the study of sorption kinetics and reversibility. Using SPOR, we investigate the adsorption of a classic nonionic surfactant (pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether, C12E5), a simple cationic surfactant (hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) of opposite charge to that of the substrate surface, and two cationic polyelectrolytes (poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate), PDAEMA; (poly(propyl methacrylate) trimethylammonium chloride, MAPTAC). For the polyethylene oxide nonionic surfactant, bilayer adsorption is established above the critical micelle concentration (cmc) both from the adsorption amounts and from the interpretation of the observed zeta potentials. Near adsorption saturation, CTAB also forms bilayer structures on silica. Here, however, we observe a strong charge reversal of the surface. The SPOR data, along with Gouy-Chapman theory, permit assessment of the net ionization fraction of the CTAB bilayer at 10% so that most of the adsorbed CTAB molecules are counterion complexed. The adsorption of both C12E5 and CTAB is reversible. The adsorption of the cationic polymers, however, is completely irreversible to a solvent wash. As with CTAB, both PDAEMA and MAPTAC demonstrate strong charge reversal. For the polyelectrolyte molecules, however, the adsorbed layer is thin and flat. Here also, a Gouy-Chapman analysis shows that less than 20% of the adsorbed layer is ionized. Furthermore, the amount of charge reversal is inversely proportional to the Debye length in agreement with available theory. SPOR provides a new tool for elucidating aqueous adsorbate molecular structure at solid surfaces.     

Adsorption of Ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose onto Silica Particles: The Role of Surface Chemistry and Temperature

The adsorption characteristics of an ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose (EHEC) polymer onto colloidal silica particles from aqueous solution have been investigated. The influence of solution temperature and the silica surface chemistry on EHEC adsorption isotherms and adsorbed layer thicknesses have been determined in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms of adsorption. As the hydrophobicity of the silica particles are increased by physical and chemical treatment, the plateau EHEC adsorbed amount increased, while the corresponding adsorbed layer thickness decreased. The estimated free energy of adsorption (DeltaG(o)(ads)) was shown to be dependent on the silica surface chemistry, but did not correlate directly with silica's advancing water contact angle and suggests that EHEC adsorption is not directly controlled by hydrophobicity alone. As the solution temperature increased from 18 to 37 degrees C, the plateau coverage of EHEC increased while the layer thickness generally decreased, this concurred with a reduction in the solvency. For hydrophilic and dehydrated silica particles, DeltaG(o)(ads) decreased in magnitude with increasing temperature, whereas for chemically treated silica, DeltaG(o)(ads) increased with temperature. These findings are discussed with respect to the specific interactions between EHEC segments and surface sites, which control the adsorption mechanisms of cellulose polymers. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Adsorption of ionic surfactants on polar surfaces with a low content of chemically adsorbed alkyl chains

Colloidal silica and titanium dioxide were surface-modified by chemisorption of octadecyl dimethylmethoxy silane. The surface density of these alkyl silane groups was adjusted to less than 7% of the available surface hydroxyls, leaving the adsorbents hydrophilic and electrically charged in aqueous solution.Ionic surfactants (tetradecylpyridinium chloride and sodium lauryl sulfate) are adsorbed onto the surface-modified silica and titanium dioxide from aqueous solution, even in the case where the surface of the adsorbents exhibits the same sign of electrical charge as the surfactant ionic head groups. According to the adsorption model of Gu the chemiadsorbed alkyl chains are supposed to serve as anchors for small surface aggregates of the ionic surfactants.     

Adsorption of novel thermosensitive graft-copolymers: Core-shell particles prepared by polyelectrolyte multilayer self-assembly

The adsorption properties of thermosensitive graft-copolymers are investigated with the aim of developing self-assembled multilayers from these copolymers. The copolymers consist of a thermoreversible main chain of poly(N-isopropylacrylamid) and a weak polyelectrolyte, poly(2-vinylpyridine), as grafted side chains. Zeta-potential, single particle light scattering and adsorption isotherms monitor the adsorption of the thermoreversible copolymers to precoated colloidal particles. The results show a smaller surface coverage for a larger density of grafted chains. The surface coverage is discussed in terms of surface charge density in the adsorbed monolayer. Taking into account the monolayer adsorption properties, conditions are developed for the multilayer formation from these copolymers. A low pH provides a sufficient charge density of the grafted chains to achieve a surface charge reversal of the colloids upon adsorption. The charge reversal after each adsorbed layer is monitored by zeta-potential and the increase of the thickness is determined by light scattering. Stable and reproducible multilayers are obtained. The results imply that the conformation of the thermosensitive component in multilayers depends strongly on the grafting density, where the polymer with a higher grafting density adsorbs in a flat conformation while that with a lower grafting density adsorbs with more loops.     

Adsorption of Ethoxylated Alkyl Phenols on Silica Gel from Aqueous Micellar Solutions

Adsorption of ethoxylated nonylphenols (Neonols) from their micellar solutions on coarse-pore KSK silica gel was studied under static conditions. The energy of adsorption interaction between micelles and silica gel surface was determined using the Hill–de Boer isotherm. For the initial parts of the isotherms (from 1 to 6 CMC₁), it was equal to –15.8kT. The study of coadsorption of Neonols with dye methylene blue showed that the micellar adsorption layer is fragmentary and that the amount of the adsorbed surfactant is dependent on the conditions of the adsorption layer formation.     

Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulation of adsorption for model surfactant solution in confined slit pores

An isobaric-isothermal Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulation has been carried out to study the adsorption of a model surfactant/solvent mixture in slit nanopores. The adsorption isotherms, the density distributions, and the configuration snapshots were simulated to illustrate the adsorption and self-assembly behaviors of the surfactant in the confined pores. The adsorption isotherms are stepwise: a two-step curve for the smaller (30 A) pore and a three-step one for the larger (50 A) pore. The adsorption isotherms and the interfacial aggregate structure of the surfactants in the pores with various sizes show a qualitatively consistent performance with the previous experimental observation. The micelle size distributions of the adsorbed surfactant aggregates have been analyzed in order to understand the adsorption mechanism, which suggests that the step rise in the surfactant adsorption is associated with the considerable formation of the micelle aggregates in the confined pores. The effect of the interaction between the pore surface and the surfactant on the adsorption behavior has also been investigated. The simulation results indicate that a change in the interaction can modify the shape of adsorption isotherms. A nonlinear mathematical model was used to represent the multistep adsorption isotherms. A good agreement between the model fitting and the simulation data was obtained for both the amount of adsorption and the jump point concentration.     

Adsorption of Pure Nonionic Alkylethoxylated Surfactants down to Low Concentrations at a Silica/Water Interface as Determined Using a HPLC Technique

The adsorption of pure nonionic alkylethoxylated surfactants of the C₁₂E_nseries at silica/water interface has been determined using a very precise HPLC technique. The number of ethoxylated groups was varied from 2 to 9. The adsorption isotherms were constructed with special attention to the very low surface coverage domain. It is shown that at very low concentration, the adsorption amounts are higher as the number of ethoxylated groups increases but the reverse trend is found at higher surfactant concentration and above the critical micelle concentration. It is shown that this behavior is the consequence of the interplay of the primary and secondary adsorption mechanisms depending upon the length of the ethoxylated chain. The maximum adsorption quantities is not a linear function of the number of ethoxylated groups. This and other observations confirm the viewpoint that the behavior of nonionic surfactant aggregates adsorbed at a hydrophilic surface carries many similarities with the properties of this class of nonionic surfactant aggregates in bulk aqueous solutions.     

亚砜类非离子型表面活性剂在固/液界面上的吸附I: 硅胶/水溶液界面上的吸附

测定了癸基和辛基-甲亚基亚砜在硅胶/水溶液界面的吸附以及溶液在石英界面的接触角. 研究了温度和pH值对吸附的影响. 吸附等温线似应归入Giles分类的L4型. 饱和吸附层的平均分子面积为27-30A^2. 二个同系物的γ/γ-c/cmc曲线彼此重叠. 吸附温度系数在低浓度范围是负性的在高浓度范围是正性的. 接触角的测量表面吸附使硅胶表面疏水. 从实验结果考虑到吸附过程由二个阶段组成: 一是在低浓度范围由固体表面和亚砜基之间的相互作用, 另一过程是在高浓度范围中, 被吸附的表面活性剂分子及其在溶液中的疏水作用.     

Wetting and adsorption: II. Adsorption of Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 onto carbon black from water and cyclohexane solutions

The adsorption isotherms of nonionic surfactants Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 from water and cyclohexane on carbon black have been determined at 15 and 30°C. The Langmuir-type and BET-type isotherms are obtained for adsorption of Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 from water and cyclohexane respectively. Both the contact angles of water for graphite/water/air and graphite/water/cyclohexane decrease monotonously with increasing surfactant concentration. From these results, it is proposed that the adsorption of Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 on carbon black or graphite from water is monolayer. For the adsorption from cyclohexane solutions, the ethyleneoxide group of the surfactant molecules may be adsorbed onto the polar spot at the surface of carbon black, and the hydrophobic group of adsorbed molecules may direct toward the liquid phase or attaches to the nonpolar surface region around the polar spot. As the concentration increases, the ethylene oxide groups of the adsorbed molecules can be aggregated with each other via polar interactions to form hemi-reversed micelle.     

Modeling of confinement-induced phase transitions for surfactant layers on amphiphilic surfaces

A self-consistent field model is used to consider a solution of positively charged surfactants up to its critical micellization concentration adsorbing onto two surfaces in close proximity. Each surface mimics a polystyrene sulfonate interface; that is, hydrophobic properties are combined with a (fixed) negative charge. We observe large and sudden changes in adsorption as a function of separation, which are not normally considered when interpreting surface force measurements. The parameters are chosen such that the adsorbed surfactant layer is of a monolayer type when the surfaces are far apart. A typical interaction curve is presented for a fixed surfactant chemical potential, which is extracted from the set of adsorption isotherms each with a fixed slit width. When the slit width approaches the thickness of the two surfactant layers, a first-order phase transition takes place, which is driven by the unfavorable hydrophobic-water contacts. At the transition, the average orientation of the surfactants switches from a high concentration of tails at the surface to a bilayer configuration where tail profiles from both sides merge in the center. The headgroups are pulled slightly away from the surface. The interaction force jumps from a weak electrostatic repulsion at large distances (two effectively positively charged surface layers repel each other) to a strong electrostatic attraction at short distances (the central surfactant bilayer is attracted to the oppositely charged surfaces). The amount of adsorbed surfactants tend to decrease with decreasing distance between the surfaces but suddenly increases at the transition. Because of this, we anticipate that in surface force experiments, for example, there is a hysteresis associated with this transition: the forces and also the adsorbed amounts depend not only on the distance between the surfaces but also on the history if nonsufficient equilibration times are implemented.