Effect of Alkyl Chain Length on the Interfacial Dilational Properties of Hydroxy-Substituted Alkyl Benzenesulfonates

Dilational rheological behaviors of adsorption layers of three surfactants, sodium 2-hydroxy-3,5-dioctyl benzene sulfonate (C8C8), sodium 2-hydroxy-3-octyl-5-decyl benzene sulfonate (C8C10), and sodium 2-hydroxy-3-octyl-5-dodecylbenzenesulfonate (C8C12) formed at air–water and decane–water interfaces, have been investigated as a function of concentration and frequency (0.002–0.1 Hz) by the oscillating bubble/drop method. The experimental results show that the dilational moduli of hydroxy-substituted alkyl benzenesulfonates are obviously higher than those of the common surfactants, because the interfacial interactions between alkyl chains are improved drastically by the unique arrangement of C8C8 molecules at the interface. However, the moduli at the decane–water interface are much lower than those at the surfaces because decane molecules will insert into the surfactant molecules adsorbed at the interface and destroy the interactions between alkyl chains. With an increase in the number of carbon atom of 5-alkyl, the surface dilational modulus decreases because the orientation of the surfactant molecules at the surface varies from parallel to tilt. On the other hand, the diffusion-exchange process dominates the interfacial behavior and the interfacial modulus improves with the increase in the length of the alkyl chain.