Tail Ordering Due to Headgroup Hydrogen Bonding Interactions in Surfactant Monolayers at the Water-Oil Interface (original) (raw)

Conformations of hydrophobic chains at liquid/gas interface and their implications on surfactant adsorption

We present a simple model of single chain, non-ionic surfactant adsorption at gas/liquid interface. Our model takes explicitly into account the effect of conformations the surfactant hydrocarbon chains can assume at the interface. We applied our model for the description of a dependence of surface tension on solution concentration of homologous series of n-alkanols. Aliphatic alcohols with the chain length from four to ten carbon atoms were studied. We found that our model correctly describes experimental data and predicts a distribution of chain conformation at the interface for all n-alkanols studied. We detected small but distinct even-odd effect in the distribution of conformations.

X‐Ray Studies of Surfactant Ordering and Interfacial Phases at the Water‐Oil Interface

Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 2006

X‐ray reflectivity studies of surfactants at the water‐oil interface yield structural information with sub‐nanometer resolution. In this presentation, we reviewed recent X‐ray reflectivity measurements of the interface between water and a hexane solution of the hydrocarbon alkanol CH3(CH2)19OH and fluorocarbon alkanol CF3(CF2)7(CH2)2OH. The mixed system exhibits three monolayer phases, two of which are similar to single surfactant phases. A transition

Hydrocarbon chain conformation in an intercalated surfactant monolayer and bilayer

Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2001

Cetyl trimethyl ammonium (CTA) ions have been confined within galleries of layered CdPS 3 at two different grafting densities. Low grafting densities are obtained on direct intercalation of CTA ions into CdPS 3 to give Cd 0⋅93 PS 3 (CTA) 0⋅14. Intercalation occurs with a lattice expansion of 4⋅8 Å with the interlamellar surfactant ion lying flat forming a monolayer. Intercalation at higher grafting densities was effected by a two-step ion-exchange process to give Cd 0⋅83 PS 3 (CTA) 0⋅34 , with a lattice expansion of 26⋅5 Å. At higher grafting densities the interlamellar surfactant ions adopt a tilted bilayer structure. 13 C NMR and orientation-dependent IR vibrational spectroscopy on single crystals have been used to probe the conformation and orientation of the methylene 'tail' of the intercalated surfactant in the two phases. In the monolayer phase, the confined methylene chain adopts an essentially all-trans conformation with most of the trans chain aligned parallel to the gallery walls. On lowering the temperature, molecular plane aligns parallel, so that the methylene chain lies flat, rigid and aligned to the confining surface. In the bilayer phase, most bonds in the methylene chain are in trans conformation. It is possible to identify specific conformational sequences containing a gauche bond, in the interior and termini of the intercalated methylene. These high energy conformers disappear on cooling leaving all fifteen methylene units of the intercalated cetyl trimethyl ammonium ion in trans conformational registry at 40 K.

Numerical Analysis of Nonionic Surfactant Monolayers at Water/Air Interfaces

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2004

The time evolution of a monododecyl pentaethylene glycol monolayer at the water-air interface is investigated using velocity rescaled NVT molecular dynamics. The model we consider consists of 40 surfactant molecules and 2350 water molecules enclosed in a periodic box. The time evolution of this system is ruled by the CFF91 force field that includes intra-and intermolecular degrees of freedom for both surfactant and water molecules. The interface we consider herein is hence described in all atomic detail. We discuss the initial condition problem and study the relaxation properties to stationarity. Transient regimes of self-assembly of the surfactant chains in entangled structures in both air and water are described. From the stationary configuration, we define the interface location, determine the mass distribution across the interface, and discuss the validity of the tilt angles notion when structural roughness is considered. Using pair distribution functions, we show that, besides typical tilt angles, monododecyl pentaethylene glycol molecules might also develop domains on the interface that suggest an in-plane orientational order.

Effect of Alkyl Chain Arrangement on Conformation and Dynamics in a Surfactant Intercalated Layered Double Hydroxide: Spectroscopic Measurements and MD …

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

The anionic surfactant dodecyl sulfate (DDS) has been intercalated in an Mg−Al layered double hydroxide (LDH). Monolayer and bilayer arrangements of the alkyl chains of the intercalated surfactant can be engineered by tuning the Al/Mg ratio of the LDH. In both arrangements the anionic headgroup of the surfactant is tethered to the LDH sheets, and consequently translational mobility of the chains is absent. The degrees of freedom of the confined alkyl chains are restricted to changes in conformation. The effects of the arrangement of the intercalated surfactant chains on conformational order and dynamics have been investigated by spectroscopic measurements and molecular dynamics simulations. Infrared, Raman, and 13C NMR spectroscopies were used to investigate conformation of the alkyl chains in the monolayer and bilayer arrangements and variable contact time cross-polarization magic angle spinning (VCT CPMAS) NMR measurements to probe molecular motion. The alkyl chains in the monolayer arrangement of the intercalated DDS chains showed considerably greater conformational disorder and faster dynamics as compared to chains in the bilayer arrangement, in spite of the fact that the volume available per chain in the monolayer is smaller than that in the bilayer. Atomistic MD simulations of the two arrangements of the intercalated surfactant were carried out using an isothermal−isobaric ensemble. The simulations are able to reproduce the essential results of the experiment—greater conformational disorder and faster dynamics for the alkyl chains in the monolayer arrangement of the intercalated surfactant. The MD simulations show that these results are a consequence of the fact that the nature of conformational disorder in the two arrangements is different. In the monolayer arrangement the alkyl chains can sustain isolated gauche defects, whereas in the bilayer arrangement gauche conformers occur only as part of a kink—a gauche+−trans−gauche− sequence.

Monolayers of Mixed Surfactants at the Oil-Water Interface, Hydrophobic Interactions, and Stability of Water-in-Oil Emulsions

Langmuir, 1995

The present study involves investigation of monolayer properties of sorbitan monooleate and diethanolamine derivatives of polyisobutylene succinic anhydride of three different molecular weights, viz. 500,700, and 1050, as single as well as binary mixtures at the oil-water interface. The average backbone carbon numbers of the polyisobutylene chains are 14,22, and 34, respectively. The monolayer studies at the oil-water interface were carried out with a specially designed Langmuir trough. The investigations were carried out at two different oil phases, viz. heptane and paraffin oil. The packing efficiency of these surfactants (single or in combination) are found to be greatly influenced by the oil chain length. Within the limits of experimental accuracy, the mixed surfactant systems comprising sorbitan monooleate and polyisobutylene surfactants of three different hydrocarbon chain lengths follow the rule of hydrocarbon chain length compatibility. The observed differences in packing features revealed the significance of oil penetration and cohesive interactions in the aliphatic layer of the surfactant film. The efficacy of these surfactants were further examined in water-in-oil emulsions and the results are consistent with the findings of monolayer properties. At the condition of chain length compatibility, the mixed surfactant system produced emulsions with maximum stability.

A Simple Molecular Model for the Spontaneous Curvature and the Bending Constants of Nonionic Surfactant Monolayers at the Oil/Water Interface †

Langmuir, 2000

A simple analytical model for the spontaneous curvature and the bending constants of nonionic surfactant monolayers at an oil/water interface is developed with the goal of allowing correlation and prediction of phase behavior. The surfactant molecules are treated as diblock copolymers grafted to the interface. The change in the free energy of the surfactant monolayer due to the bending of the interface is calculated as a sum of the contributions of the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic blocks. The equilibrium thickness of a spherical and cylindrical surfactant monolayer is found by minimizing the sum of the free energy of mixing and the stretching energy of the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic blocks. Comparison with the Helfrich model gives expressions for the spontaneous curvature H0, the bending elasticity κ, and the saddle splay modulus κ j, of the surfactant monolayer. An analytical expression is obtained for the phase inversion temperature, which correlates well with experimental data for a wide series of nonionic surfactants CiEj and oils (n-alkanes). The model gives the temperature dependence of the spontaneous curvature and the bending parameters of nonionic surfactant monolayers. Phase boundaries in C12E5/octane/water microemulsions are calculated without use of any adjustable parameters and are in a good agreement with experimental data.

The intrinsic interfacial structure of ionic surfactant monolayers at water–oil and water–vapour interfaces

Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2011

Using computer simulations, we investigate the interfacial structure of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) monolayers adsorbed at the water surface and water–oil interfaces. Using an algorithm that removes the averaging effect of the capillary waves, we obtain a detailed view of the solvation structure of water around the monolayer. We investigate surface concentrations between 45 and 33 Å 2 per surfactant, which are near experimental conditions corresponding to the critical micellar concentration and the formation of Newton black films. The surfactants induce a layering structure in water, which disappears at approximately 1 nm from the monolayer plane. The water molecules exhibit a preferred orientation with the dipoles pointing towards the monolayer. The orientational order decays slowly, but it does not influence the hydrogen bond structure of water, which is significantly disrupted in the interfacial region only. These structural changes are qualitatively the same in SDS–water and o...

Molecular Dynamics Computer Simulations of Surfactant Monolayers: Monododecyl Pentaethylene Glycol at the Surface between Air and Water

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 1999

In this publication we used molecular dynamics computer simulations in order to get a more detailed insight into the dynamic properties of monododecyl pentaethylene glycol (C 12 E 5 ) monolayers at the water surface. We used a simulation box enclosing 36 surfactant molecules and the surfactant concentration was kept constant at an average value of 0.55 nm 2 /molecule. After reaching the thermodynamic equilibrium, it turned out that the dodecyl chains were approximately oriented diagonal to the surface with an average value of about 43°m easured in respect to the surface normal vector. This result is in fairly good agreement with a previously performed simulation containing only 25 surfactant molecules. The average orientation angle of the hydrophobic chains agrees very well with experimental data. In contrast to the unpolar part of the molecules the watersoluble glycol chains were aligned more perpendicular to the water surface with a tilt angle of only 11°. It is interesting to note that these chains are rather stiff. Within the time scale of our simulation the surfactant molecules were firmly attached at the surface and did not enter into the water phase. All alkyl and glycol chain ends, however, were characterized by a striking flexibility. The calculation of pair distribution functions and detailed pattern analysis of the oxygen atoms within the glycol chains revealed a pentagonal arrangement in the highly ordered internal segments of the E 5 chain.

Solvent Isotopic Effects on a Surfactant Headgroup at the Air–Liquid Interface

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2018

The geometry, arrangement, and orientation of a quaternary ammonium surfactant flanked by two methyl groups, a benzyl head, and an octyl tail were assessed at the air−water and air-deuterium oxide (D 2 O) interfaces using sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy. Remarkably, symmetric and asymmetric N−CH 3 stretches (at ∼2979 and ∼3045 cm −1 , respectively, in the SSP polarization combination) were visible in water but negligible in deuterium oxide. We concluded that D 2 O addition triggers the average reorientation of the dimethyl amino units parallel to the interface and possibly changes the overall conformation of the surfactant. A reduced number of gauche defects in the surfactant octyl chain is also observed in D 2 O. Tilt angles for the octyl chain (1.0− 10.8°) are consistent with an ordered monolayer at the air−liquid interface.