Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device
Published on: March 18, 2020
Disrupting admicelle formation and preventing surfactant adsorption on metal oxide surfaces using sacrificial
Javen S Weston1, Jeffrey H Harwell, Benjamin J Shiau
1Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering; ‡Department of Chemical Engineering; and §Petroleum Engineering, University of Oklahoma , Norman, Oklahoma 73019, United States.
Abstract:
The adsorption of anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants was measured on high-surface area silica and alumina nanoparticles when in the presence of the proposed polyelectrolyte sacrificial agents. Surfactant adsorption was characterized using two types of adsorption isotherms: one with constant polymer concentration and varying surfactant concentration, and another with a varying polymer concentration and constant surfactant concentration. Polystyrenesulfonate and Polydiallyl dimethylammonium chloride were tested as potential sacrificial agents on alumina and silica, respectively. Each surfactant/polymer system was allowed to reach equilibrium and supernatant surfactant concentrations were measured. This information was then plotted in order to determine what, if any, effect the proposed sacrificial agent had on the equilibrium adsorption. Results indicate that both of these polymers can have a large effect on total surfactant adsorption at a variety of surfactant concentrations.
Related Concept Videos
Micelles
Surface Active Agents
Colloidal precipitates

