The stability of hydrophobic sols in the presence of surface active agents

Summary The stability of Thorium dioxide sols at p_H=3.5 was examined as a function of anionic surface active agents spectrophotometrically. At low concentrations of surface active agents, the stability of the sol decreases and attains a minimum value at concentrations 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻³ M. With increasing concentration the stability increases and attains a maximum at concentrations 10⁻³ to 10⁻² M. The effect of the P_H-value, the chain length and the head groups of the surface active agents are also studied. The results were explained on the basis of strong adsorption of these ions at the Stern plane.