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.