A Trimeric Surfactant: Surface Micelles, Hydration-Lubrication, and Formation of a Stable, Charged Hydrophobic...

The surface structure of the trimeric surfactant tri(dodecyldimethylammonioacetoxy)diethyltriamine trichloride (DTAD) on mica and the interactions between two such DTAD-coated surfaces were determined using atomic force microscopy and a surface force balance. In an aqueous solution of 3 mM, 5 times the critical aggregation concentration (CAC), the surfaces are coated with wormlike micelles or hemimicelles and larger (∼80 nm) bilayer vesicles. Repulsive normal interactions between the surfaces indicate a net surface charge and a solution concentration of ions close to that expected from the CAC. Moreover, this surface coating is strongly lubricating up to some tens of atmospheres, attributed to the hydration-lubrication mechanism acting at the exposed, highly hydrated surfactant headgroups. Upon replacement of the DTAD solution with surfactant-free water, the surface structures have changed on the DTAD monolayers, which then jump into adhesive contact on approach, both in water and following addition of 0.1 M NaNO₃. This trimeric surfactant monolayer, which is highly hydrophobic, is found to be positively charged, which is evident from the attraction between the DTAD monolayer and negatively charged bare mica across water. These monolayers are stable over days even under a salt solution. The stability is attributed to the several stabilization pathways available to DTAD on the mica surface.