Adsorption of Pure Nonionic Alkylethoxylated Surfactants down to Low Concentrations at a Silica/Water Interface as Determined Using a HPLC Technique

The adsorption of pure nonionic alkylethoxylated surfactants of the C₁₂E_nseries at silica/water interface has been determined using a very precise HPLC technique. The number of ethoxylated groups was varied from 2 to 9. The adsorption isotherms were constructed with special attention to the very low surface coverage domain. It is shown that at very low concentration, the adsorption amounts are higher as the number of ethoxylated groups increases but the reverse trend is found at higher surfactant concentration and above the critical micelle concentration. It is shown that this behavior is the consequence of the interplay of the primary and secondary adsorption mechanisms depending upon the length of the ethoxylated chain. The maximum adsorption quantities is not a linear function of the number of ethoxylated groups. This and other observations confirm the viewpoint that the behavior of nonionic surfactant aggregates adsorbed at a hydrophilic surface carries many similarities with the properties of this class of nonionic surfactant aggregates in bulk aqueous solutions.