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The dilational rheological properties of hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide (HMPAM) or hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) solutions without and with imidazolium surfactants ([C-4-Cim]Br and [Cmim]Br) at the air/water surface were investigated using oscillating bubble measurements. The results obtained suggest that imidazolium surfactants interact with the polymer on the surface, enhancing the dilational viscoelasticity of surface film. The dilational modulus value of [C-4-Cim]Br/HMPAM is higher than that of the [Cmim]Br/HMPAM system at low polymer concentration, confirming that [C-4-Cim]Br with two head groups and two hydrophobic chains can combine with a polymer to form a strong film on the surface. Moreover, imidazolium surfactants have stronger hydrophobic interaction with HMPAM chains than those of HPAM, thus enhancing the surface film strength for a surfactant/HMPAM system. The surface interaction mechanism between polyacrylamide and imidazolium surfactant is proposed to result from the electrostatic interactions and the hydrophobic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregation behavior of sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-sulfosuccinate (AOT) at the air/water interface in the absence and presence of inorganic salts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Both monovalent and divalent ions were studied, such as LiCl, NaCl, KCl, MgCl and CaCl. It has been proved that these inorganic ions have great influence on the structure of the AOT monolayer and water molecules around its headgroup. In the presence of inorganic salts, AOT molecules are relatively ordered at the interface and water around the headgroups of AOT shows a lower diffusion coefficient compared with the situation without inorganic salts. All the counterions are prone to move toward the headgroups and locate at the interface. Divalent ions have a strong interaction with AOT, thus they affect the aggregation behavior of AOT remarkably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicone surfactants favor spreading at interfaces and siloxane has strong interaction with carbon nanotubes (CNT), thus silicone surfactant may be a good dispersant of CNT. Here, four silicone surfactants (named S1E19, S2E38, S2E16 and S1E16P8) were used to disperse CNT in aqueous solutions. The effects of surfactant structure and concentration on the ability at dispersing CNT were considered. All of the four silicone surfactants can disperse CNT in aqueous solution and the sample with 1,000 mg L S1E16P8 was the best one. The hydrophilic group polyoxyethylene (PEO) and the hydrophobic groups siloxane and polypropylene (PPO) are crucial factors in the ability of dispersing CNT. S2E38 with more ethylene oxide (EO) groups has a stronger ability to disperse CNT than S2E16. The dispersion system provided by S1E19 which contains fewer siloxane and EO groups is relatively unstable and disperses less CNT. These experimental results are explained by molecular dynamics simulation. S2E38 compared with S1E19 and S2E16 has stronger interactions with CNT. The interaction energy of CNT with S1E16P8 which has a PPO moiety but fewer siloxane groups is close to that of S2E16. Furthermore, it can be concluded that these four surfactants are adsorbed on CNT mainly by van der Waals forces and the Si-O-Si chain of silicon surfactant was flexible due to the long Si-C bond and it could easily wrap onto the surface of CNT through hydrophobic and other intermolecular interactions. The hydrophilic part of PEO helped the CNT dispersed in the aqueous solution and prevented CNT from aggregating in water through steric stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between an ethoxylated alkylphenol polymer with formaldehyde (EAPPF) and a triblock polyEO-polyPO-polyEO copolymer (TBCP) in aqueous solutions has been investigated in detail by means of surface tension, steady-state fluorescence, dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements and computer simulations. For comparison, the ethoxylated alkylphenol oligomer (EAPO), which is the monomer unit of EAPPF, and another nonionic water-soluble polymer PEG were also selected to get more information about the interaction between different types of surfactants and polymers. The surface properties of mixed systems at the air/water surface were evaluated from surface tension measurements. Information about the hydrophobic microenvironment and size of the aggregates was obtained from steady-state fluorescence using pyrene as a hydrophobic probe and DLS measurements, respectively. The dissipative particle dynamics simulation method was applied to simulate the interaction between EAPPF (or EAPO) and TBCP (or PEG) in aqueous solutions. The synergetic interaction between EAPPF (or EAPO) and TBCP in binary mixed solution enhanced the adsorption of surfactant molecules (EAPPF or EAPO) at the interface, while no obvious interaction between EAPPF (or EAPO) and PEG was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]