Aggregate formation in oil and adsorption at oil/water interface: thermodynamics and its application to the oleyl alcohol system

The thermodynamic equations for examining aggregate formation in an oil phase and adsorption at the oil/water interface of a nonionic solute were derived. The total differentials of chemical potentials of species and the oil/water interfacial tension were expressed as functions of temperature, pressure, and the total concentration of solute in the oil phase after explicit consideration of aggregate formation. The partial derivatives of the chemical potentials and the interfacial tension with respect to the independent variables were found to provide the thermodynamic quantities of aggregate formation and adsorption from oil phase to the interface by introducing the concept of an ideally dilute associated solution. These equations were applied to the cyclohexane solution of oleyl alcohol/water system, and the adsorption and aggregate formation was examined.