Tuning of nanoparticle-surfactant interactions in aqueous system

The interaction of charged (anionic) silica nanoparticles with ionic and nonionic surfactants has been studied using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The surfactants used are anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cationic dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) and nonionic decaoxyethylene n-dodecylether (C(12)E(10)). The measurements are carried out at fixed concentration (1 wt%) of silica nanoparticles and with surfactant concentration varied in the range 0-2 wt%. It is found that there is no direct interaction between the nanoparticles and the surfactant (SDS) when they both are similarly charged. Both the silica nanoparticles and micelles coexist individually with no significant change in the structure of the micelles with respect to that in the pure surfactant solution. On the other hand, the presence of oppositely charged surfactant (DTAB) leads to the aggregation of silica nanoparticles even with very low surfactant concentration. The aggregation of silica nanoparticles is characterized by fractal structure and its fractal dimension remains constant with the increase in the surfactant concentration. In the case of nonionic surfactant, it interacts with the individual silica nanoparticles. The interaction is examined using two models: one that considers the surfactant layer coating on silica nanoparticles and a second one where the surface of the nanoparticles is decorated by the micelles. Contrast variation SANS measurements confirm the uniform decoration of nonionic micelles on the nanoparticles.