Synthesis and Characterization of Self-Assembling Some Thiol Surfactants on Gold Nanoparticles

The purpose of this work is to study the self-assembling of some synthesized thiol surfactants namely (mercaptopropane-, mercaptohexane-, mercaptooctane-, and mercaptodecane sodium sulfonate) on the fabricated gold nanoparticles. The self-assembling of these surfactants on gold nanoparticles characterized using different techniques such as FTIR spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Spectroscopic evidence suggests that the synthesized thiol surfactants have been attached to the gold nanoparticles. The effect of self-assembling of these surfactants on the size of the gold nanoparticles was studied using TEM images. The growth of the gold nanoparticles was investigated with respect to the increase of alkyl chain in the synthesized thiol surfactants. The results show that the stabilization of gold nanoparticles was affected by the increase in alkyl chain length of these surfactants. The effect of gold nanoparticles on the interfacial tension and the emulsion stability of these surfactants with crude oil was studied.