Direct impact of nonequilibrium aggregates on the structure and morphology of Pdadmac/SDS layers at the air/water interface.

We discuss different nonequilibrium mechanisms by which bulk aggregates directly modify, and can even control, the interfacial structure and morphology of an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte/surfactant (P/S) mixture. Samples are categorized at the air/water interface with respect to the dynamic changes in the bulk phase behavior, the bulk composition, and the sample history using complementary surface-sensitive techniques. First, we show that bulk aggregates can spontaneously interact with the adsorption layer and are retained in it and that this process occurs most readily for positively charged aggregates with an expanded structure. In this case, key nonequilibrium issues of aggregate dissociation and spreading of surface-active material at the interface have a marked influence on the macroscopic interfacial properties. In a second distinct mechanism, aggregates inherently become trapped at the interface during its creation and lateral flocculation occurs. This irreversible process is most pronounced for aggregates with the lowest charge. A third mechanism involves the deposition of aggregates at interfaces due to their transport under gravity. The specificity of this process at an interface depends on its location and is mediated by density effects in the bulk. The prevalence of each mechanism critically depends on a number of different factors, which are outlined systematically here for the first time. This study highlights the sheer complexity by which aggregates can directly impact the interfacial properties of a P/S mixture. Our findings offer scope for understanding seemingly mysterious irreproducible effects which can compromise the performance of formulations in wide-ranging applications from foams to emulsions and lubricants.

Adsorption kinetics of non-ionic surfactants in micellar solutions: effects of added charge.

The kinetics of adsorption of micellar solutions of non-ionic surfactants have been studied in an overflowing cylinder. The addition of small amounts (< 10% of the total surfactant concentration) of ionic surfactants, CTAB and STS, to solutions of C16E8 causes a dramatic reduction in the rate of adsorption of the nonionic surfactant. The results are rationalised by a combination of monomer and micelle adsorption to the air-water interface. In the presence of trace ionic surfactants, only uncharged micelles adsorb. The adsorption kinetics are independent of the sign of the charge on the micelles, only on its magnitude. The influence of ionic surfactants on the adsorption rate is reversed by addition of millimolar concentrations of salt. Electrolyte screens the repulsions between micelles and the adsorbed monolayer and allows charged micelles to adsorb without first breaking down into monomers.

Dynamic adsorption of weakly interacting polymer/surfactant mixtures at the air/water interface.

The dynamic adsorption of polymer/surfactant mixtures containing poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with either tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C(14)TAB) or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been studied at the expanding air/water interface created by an overflowing cylinder, which has a surface age of 0.1-1 s. The composition of the adsorption layer is obtained by a new approach that co-models data obtained from ellipsometry and only one isotopic contrast from neutron reflectometry (NR) without the need for any deuterated polymer. The precision and accuracy of the polymer surface excess obtained matches the levels achieved from NR measurements of different isotopic contrasts involving deuterated polymer, and requires much less neutron beamtime. The PEO concentration was fixed at 100 ppm and the electrolyte concentration at 0.1 M while the surfactant concentration was varied over three orders of magnitude. For both systems, at low bulk surfactant concentrations, adsorption of the polymer is diffusion-controlled while surfactant adsorption is under mixed kinetic/diffusion control. Adsorption of PEO is inhibited once the surfactant coverage exceeds 2 µmol m(-2). For PEO/C(14)TAB, polymer adsorption drops abruptly to zero over a narrow range of surfactant concentration. For PEO/SDS, inhibition of polymer adsorption is much more gradual, and a small amount remains adsorbed even at bulk surfactant concentrations above the cmc. The difference in behavior of the two mixtures is ascribed to favorable interactions between the PEO and SDS in the bulk solution and at the surface.

Multilayers at interfaces of an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte/surfactant system resulting from the transport of bulk aggregates under gravity.

We show conclusively that multilayers at interfaces of an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte/surfactant system can result from the transport under gravity of bulk aggregates with internal molecular structure. This process was demonstrated by measurements of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions at the air/liquid and solid/liquid interfaces using neutron reflectometry. In the latter case a novel approach involving the comparison of reflection up versus down measurements provided key evidence. Interfacial multilayers indicated by a strong Bragg peak and clear off-specular scattering are exhibited under three conditions: (1) only for samples in the phase separation region, (2) only for fresh samples where a suspension of bulk aggregates remains in solution, and (3) only when the creaming or sedimentation process occurs in the direction of the interface under examination. This bulk transport mechanism is an alternative route of formation of interfacial multilayers to surface induced self-assembly. The two processes evidently give rise to interfaces with very different structural and rheological properties. Such directionality effects in the formation of nanostructured liquid interfaces may have implications for a broad range of soft matter and biophysical systems containing macromolecules such as synthetic polymers, proteins, or DNA.

Effects of bulk colloidal stability on adsorption layers of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/sodium dodecyl sulfate at the air-water interface studied by neutron reflectometry.

We show for the oppositely charged system poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/sodium dodecyl sulfate that the cliff edge peak in its surface tension isotherm results from the comprehensive precipitation of bulk complexes into sediment, leaving a supernatant that is virtually transparent and a depleted adsorption layer at the air/water interface. The aggregation and settling processes take about 3 days to reach completion and occur at bulk compositions around charge neutrality of the complexes which lack long-term colloidal stability. We demonstrate excellent quantitative agreement between the measured surface tension values and a peak calculated from the surface excess of surfactant in the precipitation region measured by neutron reflectometry, using the approximation that there is no polymer left in the liquid phase. The nonequilibrium nature of the system is emphasized by the production of very different interfacial properties from equivalent aged samples that are handled differently. We go on to outline our perspective on the "true equilibrium" state of this intriguing system and conclude with a comment on its practical relevance given that the interfacial properties can be so readily influenced by the handling of kinetically trapped bulk aggregates.