Electrokinetics at high ionic strength and hypothesis of the double layer with zero surface charge

A growing number of publications in the last two decades have suggested that the structure and other properties of the interfacial water layer can significantly affect the double layer (DL) because of changes in ion solvatation energy. Most interesting is the possibility that a double layer might in fact exist, even when there is no electric surface charge at all, solely because of the difference in cation and anion concentrations within this interfacial water layer. Dukhin, Derjaguin, and Yaroschuk suggested this possibility 20 years ago and developed a phenomenological theory. Recently, Mancui and Ruckenstein created more sophisticated microscopic model. In this article, we present our first experimental result regarding the verification of this "zero surface charge" DL model. The electroacoustic technique allows testing at high ionic strength (up to 2 M). As a first step, we confirm the surprising result of Johnson, Scales, and Healy regarding large zeta potential of alumina (8 +/- 1 mV) in 1 M KCl. As a second step, we suggest using nonionic surfactant Tween 80 for probing and modifying the structure of the interfacial layer at high ionic strength. The application of surfactant at moderate ionic strength (i.e., <0.1 mol/dm3), as might be expected, reduces the zeta potential simply by shifting the slipping plane. However, there is no influence of surfactant on the zeta potential observed at high ionic strength. It turns out that a high concentration of KCl simply eliminates surfactant adsorption. We develop a new technique for characterizing the adsorption of nonionic surfactant using an acoustic attenuation measurement. We hope that these methods in combination with a proper surfactant and electrolyte selection would allow us to gain more detailed information on the interface structure at high ionic strength.