Reclined trend of alkyl chain of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate molecules induced by friction

Surfactants tend to adsorb on the surface/interface mostly in a directional manner. The alkyl chain orientation and conformation order for molecular monolayers of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) at low concentrations are studied by using the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS). The molecular arrangement of the surfactants adsorbed at the solid/liquid interface is further investigated. It is found that the arrangement of the SDBS at the interface becomes relatively ordered with increasing bulk concentration. Meanwhile, the orientation angle reduces gradually, and the molecules tend to be upright state. In addition, the effect of friction on the conformation order and orientation angle are also analyzed. The intensity of the SDBS vibrational contraction peak becomes lower after friction, which indicates that the anion has a reorientation process at the interface. The arrangement of molecules becomes more disordered due to friction. The orientation angle increases slightly, which indicates the monolayer has an inclined trend relative to the lateral direction on the interface. A modified adsorption model considering friction effect is proposed. This work may provide a reference for the further study of adsorption mechanism and application of surfactants.

Enhancement and analysis of Anthracene degradation by Tween 80 in LMS-HOBt

This study examines the specific effect of Tween 80 on the conversion of anthracene (ANT) in laccase medium system regarding surfactant chemical changes and mechanism. The conversion rate and degradation products of ANT were investigated in different concentrations of Tween 80 solution. Between Tween 80 concentration 0–40 critical micelle concentrations (CMC), the kinetic parameter-k (h−1) and corresponding half-life T1/2 decreased with increasing concentration. When Tween 80 was above 20 CMC the laccase-medium system converted > 95% of ANT to anthraquinone within 12 h. During the entire enzymatic reaction, the laccase activity in the system increased with increasing Tween 80 concentration. Combined with GC/MS analysis of the product, it was speculated that hydrogens belonging to the ether-oxygen bond and carbon–carbon double bond α-CH of Tween 80, were removed by the laccase-media system, promoting its degradation. Additionally, enhanced activity caused by oxygen free radicals (ROS) such as RO• and ROO•, continuously oxidized Tween 80, which in turn produced free radicals while converting ANT. This study provides new theoretical support toward the application of surfactants in the elimination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Application of surfactants for the synthesis of qualitative hydroxide and metallic cobalt nanopowders

In this work, nanopowders (NP) Co(OH)2 were obtained by chemical precipitation from aqueous solutions of cobalt nitrate Co(NO3)2 and alkali NaOH (10 wt. %) using surfactants: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) (0.1 wt. %). It was shown that Co(OH)2 NP with 0.1% SDS is the best quality product, since its dispersion increases more than 2 times compared to the samples with 0.1% CPC and without surfactants. In this case, the Co(OH)2 NP has the form of flakes with an irregular shape and a nanometer size (about 100 nm) with an average thickness of 30 nm. It was found that the average particle size of Co NP obtained by hydrogen reduction of Co(OH)2 NP with 0.1% SDS at 280°C has a maximum on the distribution histogram shifted to the interval 41–50 nm, which is characterized by a narrow particle size distribution and represents spherical particles sintered with each other.

A review of the role and mechanism of surfactants in the morphology control of metal nanoparticles

The roles of surfactants in the morphology control of nanoparticles are reviewed, including dispersion, structure direct, cap, reduction, etch, and ion exchange. The application of surfactants in the synthesis of nanoparticles is prospected.

The correlation between the surface-active characteristics of SAFOL 23 – alcohol – water systems and the length of the alkyl radical of the alcohol

The effect of isobutyl and isoamyl alcohols on the surface-active characteristics of SAFOL 23 nonionic sur-factant was studied. The surface tension isotherms (STI) of an aqueous solution of surfactant and its water-alcohol compositions are obtained. The structure of mixed micelles and the values of the surfactant interac-tion factor in the micelle, based on the STIs of SAFOL 23 – alcohol – water systems, were calculated. The dependence of surface activity on the SAFOL 23: alcohol ratio passes through a maximum, which is associat-ed with the transition of alcohol from co-surfactant to co-solvent due to the increase in its quantity. The wet-ting process of high dispersed polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) by SAFOL 23 – alcohol – water compositions was studied, contact angle isotherms were constructed. The PTFE surface was hydrophilized by compositions at ratios which comply with surface activity maximum. SAFOL 23 is more adsorbed on the surface of the sol-id phase than on the liquid-gas interface. The appending of alcohol into an aqueous solution of surfactant changes the ratio between hydrophilic and lipophilic groups of the composition, which affects cloud point. It significantly expands the range of application of surfactants and allows the use of SAFOL 23 as a solubilizer, emulsifier and wetting agent.