Can optical fiber compete with profile analysis tensiometry in critical micelle concentration measurement?

Critical micelle concentration (CMC) is one of the important nominal characteristics of the surfactants which can be measured using various methods. In this study, to detect the CMC of two ionic surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), two methods were utilized: (a) optical fiber and (b) drop profile analysis tensiometry (PAT) techniques. The spectrum width center and surface tension of the solutions at different concentrations of the surfactant were measured. The preliminary outcomes showed a compliance between optical fiber method and PAT technique. However, there were differences in the behavior of two surfactants in optical fiber measurement. In this method, when the solid surface of fiber is put in the system, the interactions between surfactant molecules and the fiber surface must be carefully considered.

Drop Size Dependence of the Apparent Surface Tension of Aqueous Solutions in Hexane Vapor as Studied by Drop Profile Analysis Tensiometry

Surface tension experiments were performed using the drop profile analysis tensiometry method. The hexane was injected into the measuring cell at certain times before the formation of the solution drop. The influence of the capillary diameter and solution drop size on the measured apparent dynamic surface tension was studied. The amount of hexane transferred from the vapor phase to the drop was estimated. For large pure water drops, it was shown that the ageing of the drop in the hexane vapor during a long time resulted in the formation of a liquid hexane phase covering the drop, but the volume of this phase did not exceed 0.5 mm3. On the contrary, for surfactant solution drops the volume of the hexane phase covering the drop was essentially larger. Experiments with solution drops were performed to measure the surface tension within a wide range of surfactant concentration. It was found that the dependencies of dynamic surface tension on the C13DMPO and C14EO8 solutions concentration exhibit maxima at concentrations of about 1–2 μmol/L for C14EO8 and 2–5 μmol/L for C13DMPO at ageing times of 100 to 1000 s; these maxima were shown to exist also at equilibrium. This phenomenon is presumably ascribed to the competitive character of simultaneous adsorption of hexane and surfactant.

Direct Determination of the Distribution Coefficient of Tridecyl Dimethyl Phosphine Oxide between Water and Hexane

Drop profile analysis tensiometry is applied to determine the distribution coefficient of a nonionic surfactant for a water/hexane system. The basic idea is to measure the interfacial tension isotherm in two configurations: a hexane drop immersed in the surfactant aqueous solutions at different bulk concentrations, and a water drop immersed into a hexane solution of the same surfactant. Both types of experiments lead to an isotherm for the equilibrium interfacial tensions with the same slope but with a concentration shift between them. This shift refers exactly to the value of the distribution coefficient.