Polystyrene water interface, surfactant adsorption

Extensive neutron reflectivity studies on surfactant adsorption at the air-water interface show that a surfactant monolayer is formed at the interface. Even for concentration cmc, where complex sub-surface ordering of micelles may exist,the interfacial layer remains a monolayer. This is in marked contrast to the situation for amphiphilic block copolymers, where recent measurements by Richards et al. on polystyrene polyethylene oxide block copolymers (PS-b-PEO) and by Thomas et al. on poly(2-(dimethyl-amino)ethylmethacrylamide-b-methyl methacrylate) (DMAEMA-b-MMA) show the formation of surface micelles at a concentration block copolymer, where an abrupt change in thickness is observed at a finite concentration, and signals the onset of surface micellisation. 

Adsorption layers of the same kind as at fluid interfaces are also formed at low-energy solid -water surfaces, as it was established on PE, polystyrene, paraffin, carbon black, and other related materials. The classical Langmuir or Frumkin adsorption isotherm is often applicable to describe this behaviour. Studies on surfactant adsorption at various solid surfaces have been summarised in a great number of reviews [2, 7, 8, 54, 98, 101, 111, 121, 126, 141, 144, 145, 177, 186, 190, 194-198]. The adsorption at the solid/liquid interfaces is governed by a number of factors ... 

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