Direct measurements of long-range surface forces in gas and liquid media

A modified set-up was applied to carry out direct measurements of the forces of molecular attraction of gold spheres and crossed quartz filaments in air within the region of distances from 10 to 100 nm. Some quantitative deviations from Lifshitz's theory for gold may be attributed to an insufficient reliability of the spectral data used in the calculations. The DLVO theory adequately describes the interaction of glass threads in KCl (10^?3 ÷ 10^?5 N) solutions within the region of 5 to 100 nm. At a distance smaller than 5 nm, the deviations from DLVO theory are attributable to the influence of structural forces.When the contact between crossed hydrophobized quartz threads in water is broken, the attraction forces (which exceed the molecular forces by several orders of magnitude) at a distance of up to 300 nm are detected.     

Foam and wetting films from amphiphilic block copolymers: Isoelectric state and stability

Foam and wetting films from PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers Synperonic P85 and F108 are studied under the identical conditions, using microinterference method. The range of background electrolyte concentration, where DLVO (electrostatic and van der Waals) forces and non-DLVO (steric) forces act in the films, is determined. From the dependence of the film thickness on pH, it is unambiguously shown that electrostatic interactions (i.e., the potential and surface charge) in the foam and wetting films caused by the presence of nonionic polymer surfactants arise due to the preferential adsorption of OH⁻ ions at the solution-air interface. The films obtained below the critical pH values are sterically stabilized; i.e., a decrease in pH induces a transition from electrostatic to steric stabilization. Three-layer models are designed for both types of films that allow to calculate electrostatic disjoining pressure Π_el. The values of ϕ₀ potential of the foam film are used to calculate Π_el in wetting films. A relation between the isoelectric state of foam and wetting films and their stability is found to exist in the range of pH corresponding to electrostatic stabilization. Metastable films, film rupture, or the transition to sterically stabilized films were also found. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Hydrodynamic thickness and deformational properties of adsorption layers of poly(ethyleneoxides)

From the measurements of surface potentials of quartz capillaries before and after adsorption of poly(ethylene oxides) (PEO) of various molecular mass, an assessment of the equilibrium hydrodynamic thickness of the adsorption layers has been obtained. The results have been compared with those of independent measurements of . The flow of the polymer solution under increasing pressure drops at the ends of a capillary, which causes the corresponding shear stress () on the surface of adsorbed PEO layers, results in the deformation of the latter, which manifests itself in decreasing 5. The values decrease by several times when the shear stress rises to 2×10₂ N m^–2. Such values of have been obtained using thin capillaries (r = 5÷6 mm) and by application of the capillary electrokinetic method with pressure drops up to 5÷6 MPa.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 31–37, January, 1994.     

Formation of columns of anomalous water by condensation in quartz capillaries

It is shown that these columns are formed in the kinetic mode from unsaturated water vapor. The condensation coefficient for an anomalous column is much less than for ordinary water. The growth rate is dependent on the equilibration time for the concentration of the anomalous component in the column. The diffusion coefficient for the anomalous component in water is less than the self-diffusion coefficient of water by nearly an order of magnitude; this and the low volatility are to be ascribed to large molecular size. It is supposed that the molecules of the anomalous component are strong groups of H₂O molecules that are only slowly converted to monomers.     

Fulfillment of the Conditions of Thermodynamic Equilibrium in an Ice/Electrolyte Solution System with Constrained Geometry

For small volumes of a NaCl solution (10^–6 cm³) with concentrations of 0.1 and 1 M, temperature dependences of the length lof solution columns frozen in thin quartz capillaries (5–10 m in radius) are obtained. At the temperatures t above –4 and –8°C (for 0.1 and 1 M solutions, respectively), the l(t) dependences are reversible, independent of the direction of changes in temperature, and, hence, correspond to the equilibrium conditions of ice/solution system. From the constant mass condition of the solute, an expression for l(t) is derived that includes only one thermodynamic characteristic, namely, the temperature dependence of the solution concentration in equilibrium with ice. Deviations from the calculated l(t) dependences are observed at a temperatures below –2 and –5°C (for 0.1 and 1 M solutions, respectively), which can be explained by the adhesion of frozen solution to the capillary walls. The arising internal stresses lead to the deviations from the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions known for the bulk systems. On approaching the melting zone, the adhesion is failed because of the formation of thin nonfreezing water interlayers on the quartz surface.     

Surface forces in wetting films

A short review of various components of surface forces acting in a non-symmetrical system such as wetting films is presented here. Experimental results are compared with modified DLVO theory, which includes, besides dispersion and electrostatic, structural (solvation) forces caused by a change in liquid structure in conditions of confined geometry. The peculiarities of disjoining pressure isotherms and conditions of the film stability of non-polar and polar simple liquids, as well as of aqueous solutions of electrolytes and surfactants, are systematically considered from a historical perspective.     

Surface Tension and Dynamic Contact Angle of Water in Thin Quartz Capillaries

The surface tension of water has been measured in quartz capillaries with radii from 200 down to 40 nm. It appears that the surface tension does not differ from the known (bulk) values in the temperature range from 8 to 70 degrees C, within 1% experimental error. The dynamic contact angle, theta(d), vanishes when the capillary surface is covered with a wetting film left behind the receding meniscus. In the case of a dry surface, theta(d) depends on the velocity of the meniscus motion. The results obtained do not agree with presently available theoretical predictions from hydrodynamic theories of dynamic contact angles. Rather the kinetics of water vapor adsorption ahead of the moving meniscus seems to be the major controlling agent of the dynamic contact angle. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Layer-by-layer adsorption of polyelectrolyte and surfactant and adsorption of their complexes on solid surface

The capillary electrokinetics method (measurement of streaming potential and current in a capillary with a radius of 5–7 μm made of fused quartz) is employed to study the structure formation at interfaces between quartz and solutions containing a cationic polyelectrolyte (poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) with molecular mass M = 100000−200000) and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate). The kinetics of surface layer formation is studied upon the layer-by-layer adsorption of the components and the adsorption of their complexes at the same component ratios. It is established that the formation time and the electrokinetic potentials of the surface layers are almost independent of the procedure of their formation. In the case of the layer-by-layer adsorption, the first layers of the polyelectrolyte appear to be virtually undeformed, thus indicating that molecules with a planar conformation prevail in the adsorption layer. Surfactant adsorption enhances the deformation (layer loosening), which decreases with time (layer aging). Layers formed from the complexes have a denser (less deformable) structure. Variations in the electrokinetic potentials of the layers during the long-term pumping of a background electrolyte solution through a capillary witnesses the prevailing desorption of the anionic surfactant, with the desorption being noticeably more pronounced for the layers resultant from the adsorption of the complexes.     

Eigenschaften von polymolekularen Wasserfilmen auf der Oberfläche von Quarzkapillaren

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