Surfactants surface properties

Attwood, D., P. H. Elworthy, and M. J. Lawrence. 1994. Effect of structural variations of non-ionic surfactants on surface properties Surfactants with semi-polar hydrophdb Siarm. Pharmacol. 42 581-583. 

An important application of foams arises in foam displacement, another means to aid enhanced oil recovery. The effectiveness of various foams in displacing oil from porous media has been studied by Shah and co-workers [237, 238]. The displacement efficiency depends on numerous physicochemical variables such as surfactant chain length and temperature with the surface properties of the foaming solution being an important determinant of performance. 

A great number of nonionic surfactants have been ethoxylated and subsequently reacted with P4O10. The acid phosphate esters from this reaction possess surface properties and detergency similar to the nonionic surface-active agents employed as reactants. Detergency tests and foam heights from the Ross-Miles method have been reported for a series of compounds. Various formulations for all-purpose cleaners are given as well [37,40,41,44,48]. 

The mechanisms that affect heat transfer in single-phase and two-phase aqueous surfactant solutions is a conjugate problem involving the heater and liquid properties (viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, surface tension). Besides the effects of heater geometry, its surface characteristics, and wall heat flux level, the bulk concentration of surfactant and its chemistry (ionic nature and molecular weight), surface wetting, surfactant adsorption and desorption, and foaming should be considered. 

The recovery of petroleum from sandstone and the release of kerogen from oil shale and tar sands both depend strongly on the microstmcture and surface properties of these porous media. The interfacial properties of complex liquid agents—mixtures of polymers and surfactants—are critical to viscosity control in tertiary oil recovery and to the comminution of minerals and coal. The corrosion and wear of mechanical parts are influenced by the composition and stmcture of metal surfaces, as well as by the interaction of lubricants with these surfaces. Microstmcture and surface properties are vitally important to both the performance of electrodes in electrochemical processes and the effectiveness of catalysts. Advances in synthetic chemistry are opening the door to the design of zeolites and layered compounds with tightly specified properties to provide the desired catalytic activity and separation selectivity. 

Green FHY, Schurch S, De Sanctis GT, et al. 1991. Effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure on surface properties of lung surfactant. J Appl Physiol 70 1943-1949. 

Given the information above, the question remains as to the nature of the monolayer states responsible for the stereo-differentiation of surface properties in racemic and enantiomeric films. Although associations in the crystalline phases are clearly differentiated by stereochemical packing, and therefore reflected in the thermodynamic and physical properties of the crystals, there is no indication that the same differentiations occur in a highly ordered, two-dimensional array of molecules on a water surface. However, it will be seen below (pp. 107-127) that conformational forces that are readily apparent in X-ray and molecular models for several diastereomeric surfactants provide a solid basis for interpreting their monolayer behavior. 

What characterizes surfactants is their ability to adsorb onto surfaces and to modify the surface properties. At the gas/liquid interface this leads to a reduction in surface tension. Fig. 4.1 shows the dependence of surface tension on the concentration for different surfactant types [39]. It is obvious from this figure that the nonionic surfactants have a lower surface tension for the same alkyl chain length and concentration than the ionic surfactants. The second effect which can be seen from Fig. 4.1 is the discontinuity of the surface tension-concentration curves with a constant value for the surface tension above this point. The breakpoint of the curves can be correlated to the critical micelle concentration (cmc) above which the formation of micellar aggregates can be observed in the bulk phase. These micelles are characteristic for the ability of surfactants to solubilize hydrophobic substances in aqueous solution. So the concentration of surfactant in the washing liquor has at least to be right above the cmc. 

Due to their unique surface-active properties, surfactants possess the capacity to remobilize non-polar contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or heavy metals, which have accumulated in... 

A variation of this method was used to control the surface properties of aluminum oxide particles, particularly the surface density of Lewis acid sites. Instead of using a long-chain amine surfactant, the solution of aluminum alkoxide precursor was mixed with a small amine to convert the alkoxide dimer (or oligomer in general) into monomeric alkoxide-amine adduct. Controlled hydrolysis of this adduct produces an aluminum oxyhydroxide in which the surface A1 ions are coordinated to amine... 

Monolayers of surfactants at the air-water interface provide an unparalleled opportunity to study energy changes due to differences in orientation of the surfactant molecules as they are packed within various areas on the surface. The work reviewed here, from a small number of studies that have been widely scattered through the literature, shows that the surface properties of monolayers are quite sensitive to stereochemistry. 

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