Wetting properties of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified inulin polymeric surfactant

The contact angles of aqueous solutions of a polymeric surfactant namely hydrophobically modified inulin (INUTEC®SP1) were measured on hydrophilic and hydrophobised quartz glass surfaces using the sessile drop technique. These measurements showed a large difference (>10°) between the advancing contact angle θ ₁ (that is measured immediately after placing the drop on the surface) and the constant contact angle θ ₂ (that is measured 30 minutes after placing the drop). In all the results only the contact angle θ ₂ was subsequently measured. θ versus INUTEC®SP1 concentration C _s curves were obtained at various NaCl concentrations both on hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass surfaces. On hydrophilic glass surface the θ versus C _s curves showed a maximum at a concentration range of 10^–6 to 2?×?10^–5 mol dm^-3 INUTEC®SP1. These curves were shifted to lower values as the NaCl concentration was increased. On such hydrophilic surface the INUTEC®SP1 molecule adsorbs with the polyfructose loops and tails oriented towards the surface leaving the alkyl chains in solution. Saturation adsorption with this orientation occurs at 2?×?10^–5 mol dm^-3 INUTEC®SP1. However, the contact angles remain quite small (<18°) indicating the presence of several hydrophilic glass patches uncovered by surfactant molecules. At C _s?>?2?×?10^–5 mol dm^-3 θ decreases with further increase of the INUTEC®SP1 concentration reaching 5° at the Critical Association Concentration (CAC) of the polymer. This indicates the formation of a bilayer of INUTEC®SP1 molecules with the alkyl chains hydrophobically attached to those of the first layer. On a hydrophobic glass surface, adsorption of INUTEC®SP1 occurs by multi-point attachment with the alkyl chains on the surface leaving the hydrophilic polyfructose loops and tails dangling in solution. This results in a gradual decrease of the contact angle with increase in INUTEC®SP1 concentration, reaching a plateau value (>85°) between 2?×?10^–5 and 2?×?10^–4 mol dm^-3. The large contact angles obtained on adsorption of the polymeric surfactant on a hydrophobic surface indicate the presence of several uncovered hydrophobic patches. These results give a reasonable picture of the adsorption and orientation of the INUTEC®SP1 molecules on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic solid surfaces.     

Wetting of surfactant solutions by alkanes.

Ellipsometry, surface tensiometry, and contact-angle measurement have been used to study the transition between partial wetting and pseudo-partial wetting of surfactant solutions by alkanes. In the partial wetting regime, the air-water surface tension is the same with and without alkane. In the pseudo-partial wetting regime, the air-water surface tension is lowered by the presence of alkane, showing that oil is solubilised into the surfactant monolayer. A discontinuous change in the coefficient of ellipticity with increasing surfactant concentration provides unequivocal evidence for the first-order nature of the wetting transitions. Ellipsometry has been used to explore the generality of wetting transitions of alkanes (dodecane, hexadecane, and squalane) on surfactant solutions [dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetredecyltrimethylammonium bromide, dibucaine hydrochloride, and Aerosol OT (AOT)]. Of the systems studied, only hexadecane on AOT solutions did not show a wetting transition. Excess alkane remains as a lens on the surface of the surfactant solutions at all concentrations, but the contact angle is a minimum at the wetting transition. A semiquantitative model for the variation of the contact angle with surfactant concentration is provided.     

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.     

Dewetting behavior of aqueous cationic surfactant solutions on liquid films

Previous experimental work has shown that the spreading of a drop of aqueous anionic surfactant solution on a liquid film supported by a negatively charged solid substrate may give rise to a fingering instability (Afsar-Siddiqui, A. B.; Luckham P, F.; Matar, O. K. Langmuir 2003, 19, 703-708). However, upon deposition of a cationic surfactant on a similarly charged support, the surfactant will adsorb onto the solid-liquid interface rendering it hydrophobic. Water is then expelled from the hydrophobic regions, causing film rupture and dewetting. In this paper, experimental results are presented showing how the surfactant concentration and film thickness affect the dewetting behavior of aqueous dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide solutions. At low surfactant concentrations and large film thicknesses, the film ruptures at a point from which dewetting proceeds. At higher concentrations and smaller film thicknesses, the ruptured region is annular in shape and fluid moves away from this region. At still higher concentrations and smaller film thicknesses, the deposited surfactant forms a cap at the point of deposition that neither spreads nor retracts. This variation in dewetting mode is explained by considering the relative Marangoni and bulk diffusion time scales as well as the mode of assembly of the surfactant adsorbed on the solid surface.     

Influence of co-solvent on the rheological behavior of aqueous viscoelastic surfactant solutions

We have studied the influence of glycerol on the rheological behavior of viscoelastic surfactant solutions. The measurements were carried out on the system CTAB and NaSal. This system shows two viscosity maxima with increasing NaSal concentration. When water is replaced by glycerol, the viscosities and the structural relaxation times at the viscosity maxima decrease while they increase at the viscosity minimum. As a result of the opposite changes the two maxima are replaced by a single maxima when 40% water is replaced by glycerol. The change of the viscosities is a consequence of a change of the structural relaxation times while the storage moduli remain constant. The opposite changes are a result of different mechanisms for the relaxation times. At the maxima, the relaxation times are reptation controlled and depend on the intermicellar interaction energy. At the minimum, relaxation times are kinetically controlled and depend on the intramolecular interaction.     

Wetting films on a hydrophilic silica surface obtained from aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified inulin polymeric surfactant

The thickness of wetting films on a hydrophilic silica surface was investigated using a microinterferometric technique. Aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified inulin (INUTEC^®SP1) at various concentrations, in the presence or absence of NaCl or Na₂SO₄, were studied. The equilibrium film thickness (h _eq) showed a complex dependence on INUTEC^®SP1 concentration. At low electrolyte concentrations, h _eq decreased with an increase in INUTEC^®SP1 concentration, reaching a minimum at 10^?6 mol dm^?3. However, at high electrolyte concentrations, this dependence became less pronounced. At any given INUTEC^®SP1 concentration, the equilibrium film thickness decreased with an increase in electrolyte concentration as a result of the compression of the electrical double layer reaching a minimum value. After that, the film thickness showed a small decrease with further increase in electrolyte concentration. This indicates that the electrostatic component of disjoining pressure can be neglected, and the steric repulsion of the loops and tails of INUTEC^®SP1 determined the film thickness.     

Thermodynamics of aqueous carbohydrate surfactant solutions

The paper deals with the application of the micelle formation theory, developed by Nagarajan and Ruckenstein [R. Nagarajan, E. Ruckenstein, Langmuir 7 (1991) 2934–2969] and Nagarajan [R. Nagarajan, in: K. Esumi (Ed.), Structure–Performance Relationships in Surfactants, Dekker, New York, 1997, pp. 1–81; R. Nagarajan, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 26 (1986) 205-264] to various n-alkyl-β-d-glucopyranoside surfactants, differing in the surfactant tail length (n-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside C₈G₁, n-decyl-β-d-glucopyranoside C₁₀G₁ and dodecyl-β-d-glucopyranoside C₁₂G₁). The model predicts that the carbohydrate surfactant molecules assemble for energetic reasons in spherical bilayer vesicles. The critical micellar concentration as function of the temperature shows a minimum value. The formed micellar aggregates exhibit a broad distribution of sizes. It is demonstrated in this study that the thermodynamic theory in combination with phase separation thermodynamics can be used successfully to described the phase separation, which occurs for the system C₁₀G₁+water and C₁₂G₁+water at low surfactant concentrations.     

Phase behavior of salt-free catanionic surfactant aqueous solutions with fullerene C60 solubilized

A salt-free catanionic surfactant system, tetradecyltrimethylammonium laurate (TTAL), was constructed by mixing tetradecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (TTAOH) and lauric acid (LA). The H+ and OH- counterions form water (TTAOH+LA-->TTAL+H2O), leaving the solution salt-free. The phase behaviors at fixing the total surfactant concentration (cTTAL) to be 33.0 and 55.0 mmol L(-1), respectively, were studied through varying the molar ratio of r=nLA/nTTAOH from 0.70 to 1.20. With an increasing value of r, one observed an L1-region, an Lalpha/L1 two-phase region with a birefringent Lalpha-phase at the top, and finally a single Lalpha-phase. The ability to solubilize a fullerene mixture of C60 and C70 of different phases in different regions was tested. The colloidal stability and phase behavior of different phases with embedded fullerenes were investigated as a function of r, cTTAL, and weight ratio of fullerene to surfactant (WF/WTTAL). The 33.0 or 55.0 mmol L(-1) zero-charged vesicle-phase at r=1.00 could solubilize a considerable amount of fullerenes without macroscopic phase separation and obvious vesicular structure breakage. However, these colloidal solutions became unstable at lower concentrations of surfactants, and a precipitate would be observed at the bottom. The micellar (L1-phase) solubilization at the TTAOH-rich side was less pronounced compared to the vesicular solubilization of the zero-charged vesicle-phase, and the solubilizing ability decreased at higher r values. In the Lalpha/L1 two-phase region, a brown or dark-brown Lalpha-phase was usually found at the top of a colorless or yellowish L1-phase, indicating that most of the fullerenes were embedded in the upper Lalpha-phase. The influence of fullerene incorporation on the property of the zero-charged TTAL vesicle-phase was also investigated, and evidence has been found that the system tended to be more fluid after fullerenes were incorporated into the hydrophobic microdomains of aggregates.     

On the properties of surfactant aqueous solutions

Summary From studies of aqueous solutions of dodecylammoniumnitrate an association mechanism has been proposed involving multiequilibrium. In the concentration range considered we can differentiate between two aspects: ranges of marked qualitative and quantitative changes and formation of differently structured surfactant species.

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Zusammenfassung Aus der Untersuchung wäßriger Lösungen von Dodecylammoniumnitrat würde ein Assoziationsmechanismus abgeleitet, welcher ein Multiequilibrium beinhaltet. Im untersuchten Konzentrationsbereich können zwei Bereiche unterschieden werden: Bereiche mit ausgeprägten qualitativen und quantitativen Änderungen und Bereiche mit der Bildung von verschieden strukturierten oberflächenaktiven Spezies.

     

Equilibrium surface tension of aqueous surfactant solutions

Summary The applicability of the drop weight method for determining time dependent surface tension of surfactant solutions was experimentally proved.The presence of CO₂ and traces of lauryl alcohol and long chain homologs lower the surface tension of sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions in a measurable extent. The chemical purification of materials and recrystallizations are insatisfactory to obtain sufficient purity; the cleaning of the surface itself is needed by e.g. foaming. The equilibrium surface tension of pure surfactant solutions that is often required to interpret interfacial phenomena and to calculate theGibbs adsorption excess can be determined with reliable accuracy by linear extrapolation to zero time from measurements made in function of time up from 1 minute on moderately contaminated solutions.As a criterion of surface purity the time dependence of surface tension and the average life-time of thin liquid film are suggested.

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Zusammenfassung Die Tropfengewichtsmethode eignet sich auch zur Bestimmung der zeitabhängigen Oberflächenspannung wäßriger Tensidlösungen. Zur Entfernung von Verunreinigungen, die die Oberflächenspannung von Natriumdodecylsulfatlösungen herabsetzen, wie Spuren von Laurylalkohol und höheren Homologen, reichen weder chemische Methoden noch wiederholtes Umkristallisieren aus, sondern die Oberfläche selbst ist zu reinigen, z. B. durch Ausschäumen. Der Gleichgewichtswert der Oberflächenspannung läß sich mit hinreichender Genauigkeit berechnen, in dem man die an mäßig konzentrierten Lösungen über einer Minute Meßzeit gewonnenen Daten auft = 0 linear extrapoliert. Als praktisches Kriterium für die Reinheit der Oberfläche kann man sowohl die Zeitabhängigkeit der Oberflächenspannung, wie auch die mittlere Lebensdauer von dünnen Lösungsfilmen heranziehen.

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Rheological studies of aqueous alkylpolyglucoside surfactant solutions

Alkylpolyglucosides (C _Y G _X ) are industrial products of mixtures consisting of a hydrocarbon chain with Y carbon atoms linked to X sugar residues. Based on detailed analytical investigation of technical grade alkylpolyglucosides (C_8–10G _X , C_12–14G _X and C_8–16G _X )/water systems using high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with a special kind of mass spectroscopy their rheological behaviour is discussed and compared to the rheological behaviour of pure alkyl monoglycosides (C₈G₁ and C₁₀G₁) in water. The rheological properties that exhibit a dependence on the alkyl chain length, Y, and the degree of polymerisation, X, are investigated by rotation and oscillation experiments over an extended concentration range. The Maxwell model fits the frequency dependence of the dynamic functions fairly well. The viscosity shows an Arrhenius-like dependence on temperature. A comparison is drawn between the monoglucosides and the polyglucosides, which shows that the rheological properties are more sensitive to the a change in chain length than in the degree of polymerisation. Phase transitions, especially liquid-crystalline to isotropic solutions, phase split into two coexisting liquid phases, and could be followed using visual observation and rheology. Depending on the difference in the rheological properties of the corresponding phases, viscoelastic measurements showed these transitions clearly. Additionally, the changes in viscosities were measured after addition of a second surfactant. Received: 4 January 1999 Accepted in revised form: 12 April 1999     

Salting-out surfactant extraction of porphyrins and metalloporphyrin from aqueous non-ionic surfactant solutions

A number of cloud point temperature-depressing electrolytes have been investigated for the separation of a non-ionic surfactant (Triton X-100) from aqueous solutions and the corresponding extraction of the organic solutes into the smaller volume surfactant-rich phase using the salting-out method. High extraction efficiencies and preconcentration factors were obtained at room temperature for the extraction of several hydrophilic and hydrophobic metal-free porphyrins (uroporphyrin, coproporphyrin, protoporphyrin and hematoporphyrin) and one metalloporphyrin (iron-protoporphyrin) that were dissolved in the aqueous non-ionic surfactant solutions. Possible mechanisms responsible for the efficient extraction of these important biological molecules into the surfactant-rich layer are discussed.     

Supercooling behavior in aqueous solutions

Using the emulsion method, we measured the homogeneous nucleation temperature depression, DeltaT(f,hom), and equilibrium melting points depression, DeltaT(m), of various aqueous solutions and then calculated lambda for each solute using the linear relationship DeltaT(f,hom) = lambdaDeltaT(m). We defined lambda as the solute-specific supercooling capacity and examined its correlation with some known hydration characteristics. The results showed that lambda is correlated with D0, the self-diffusion coefficient of solute molecules in infinite dilution.     

Kinetics of wetting and spreading by aqueous surfactant solutions

Interest in wetting dynamics processes has immensely increased during the past 10-15 years. In many industrial and medical applications, some strategies to control drop spreading on solid surfaces are being developed. One possibility is that a surfactant, a surface-active polymer, a polyelectrolyte or their mixture are added to a liquid (usually water). The main idea of the paper is to give an overview on some dynamic wetting and spreading phenomena in the presence of surfactants in the case of smooth or porous substrates, which can be either moderately or highly hydrophobic surfaces based on the literature data and the authors own investigations. Instability problems associated with spreading over dry or pre-wetted hydrophilic surfaces as well as over thin aqueous layers are briefly discussed. Toward a better understanding of the superspreading phenomenon, unusual wetting properties of trisiloxanes on hydrophobic surfaces are also discussed.     

Growth kinetics of sulfur nanoparticles in aqueous surfactant solutions

Sulfur is an important element has many practical applications when present as nanoparticles. Despite the practicable applications, limited studies are available in the literature related to synthesis of sulfur nanoparticles. Growth kinetics of colloidal sulfur particles synthesized from aqueous solutions using different surfactants have been studied here. The effects of different parameters such as reactant concentration, temperature, sonication, types of acids, types of surfactants, and even surfactant concentration are studied on the growth kinetics. Since the reaction rate is fast, particle growth depends on the parameters which affect diffusion of sulfur molecules. There is a linear relationship found among the reactant concentration and the particle coarsening rate constant. The growth kinetics was studied in the presence of different surfactants such as nonionic (poly(oxyethylene) p-tert-octylphenyl ether, TX-100), anionic (sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, SDBS), cationic (cetyltrimethyammonium bromide, CTAB) and results show the coarsening constant changes according to the following order: water>TX-100>SDBS>CTAB. The particle growth rate also depends on the surfactant concentration, coarsening rate constant decreases with the increase in surfactant concentration and become constant close to the critical micellar concentration (CMC). The coarsening rate constant also highly depends on the types of acid used as catalyst.     

Wetting effect of aqueous binary mixed solutions of cationic and nonionic surfactants

Wetting of low-energy solid surfaces (polymers, hydrophobized glass) with aqueous solutions of binary mixtures of cationic and nonionic surfactants was investigated at molar fractions of the cationic surfactant of 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8. In a narrow concentration range, the non-additive effect of wetting was observed: wetting of the solid surfaces with solutions of the mixtures is better than that would be expected from the additive behavior of the components. The magnitude of the effect depends on the surface energy of the solid substrate, total surfactant concentration in a mixture, and molar fraction of the cationic component. The wetting effect of surfactant mixtures with respect to low-energy solid surfaces can be predicted using the surface tension isotherms.     

Positively charged colloidal species in aqueous anionic surfactant solutions

The solution chemistry of fatty acids was reassessed. Transmittance measurements confirmed the existence of a colloidal precipitate in accordance with the constructed thermodynamic diagram. The electrokinetic potential of the precipitate and its dependence on pH was examined and an i.e.p. was found around pH 3. It results then that positively charged species exist below pH 3 in the broad range of fatty acid aqueous solution concentrations.     

Aggregation behavior of imidazolium-based chiral surfactant in aqueous solution

A novel imidazolium-based chiral surfactant with a Y-type hydrophobic chain, (S)-(+)-1-(2,3-bis(octanoyloxy)propyl)-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bopmim]Cl), was synthesized. The aggregation behavior of [Bopmim]Cl in aqueous solution was then investigated by surface tension, electrical conductivity, ¹H NMR, and fluorescence measurements. Compared with [C₁₂mim]Cl, the critical micelle concentration for [Bopmim]Cl is lower, indicating that the novel chiral surfactant has superior capacity to form micelles. A larger value of pC ₂₀, a greater minimum area per surfactant molecule (A _min), a smaller degree of counterion binding (β), and a looser aggregate are caused by the relatively larger Y-type hydrophobic chain of [Bopmim]Cl. Furthermore, analysis of the ¹H NMR spectra revealed that the introduced Y-type hydrophobic chain may prevent the hydrophobic group from forming an extended chain configuration and cause a changeover from trans to gauche conformations upon micellization. The micelles of the novel chiral surfactant may provide some potential applications in the stereochemical recognition of surfaces or of biological structures.