Book Chapter

Surfactant Adsorption at Solid Surfaces

Holmberg, Krister, Kronberg, Bengt, Lindman, Björn

2014

Overview

Adsorption of surfactants at solid surfaces is of great importance in many technical processes as well as products, for example, in the stabilization of suspensions, in detergency, and in lubrication. The surfactant adsorption from aqueous solutions is driven by two factors: the energy gained on changing a surface‐water contact into a surface‐surfactant contact and the hydrophobic effect, that is, the escaping tendency of the surfactant hydrocarbon moiety from the aqueous environment. Surfactant adsorption always reaches a limiting value, Gmax, when the solution concentration is above the critical micelle concentration (CMC). Surfactants also adsorb at hydrophilic surfaces, such as silica or mica, but the adsorption mechanism is very different from that at hydrophobic surfaces. The type of surface aggregates that forms on the surface depends on the molecular geometry of the surfactant, (i.e), the CPP. Adsolublization is the coadsorption of an external component in the surfactant aggregates at the surface.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
• Subject: adsolublization / CPP / critical micelle concentration (CMC) / hydrophilic surfaces / hydrophobic effect / surfactant adsorption
• ISBN: 1119961246, 9781119961246