Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device
Published on: March 18, 2020
Synergistic effects of surfactants and heterogeneous nanoparticles at oil-water interface: Insights from computations
Tuan V Vu1, Dimitrios V Papavassiliou1
1School of Chemical, Biological, and Material Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-1004, USA.
Hypothesis:
Nanoparticles (NPs) can reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) of the oil-water system containing surfactants by reducing the interfacial area available to surfactants. The ability to reduce the IFT when surfactants are present in addition to NPs depends on the localization of the NPs on the interface, which is related to the nature of the NPs and the interaction between NPs and surfactant molecules.
Experiments:
Systems of NPs and surfactants on the oil-water interface were studied using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD). Heterogeneous NPs with different properties and interface coverage were placed on the interface with various surfactant concentrations. The IFT and the surfactant density profiles across the interface were analyzed.
Findings:
At constant surfactant concentration, adding NPs reduced the IFT; while with the absence of surfactant, NPs expressed no effect on the IFT. Among different types of heterogeneous NPs, the most effective were those that maximized their footprint on the interface, reducing thus the interfacial area available to surfactants. The interactions of the NPs with the surfactant molecules determined exactly which pattern of heterogeneity was most favorable. Based on these results, suggestions for designing NPs for maximum synergistic effects with surfactants were formulated.
More Related Videos
10:52Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
11:26Water in Oil Emulsions: A New System for Assembling Water-soluble Chlorophyll-binding Proteins with Hydrophobic Pigments
Published on: March 21, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Protein-protein Interfaces
Protein-Protein Interfaces
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Design Example: Flow of Oil Through Circular Pipes
Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
Water and Mineral Acquisition