Emulsions are of great interest in the food, cosmetic and water remediation industries where two immiscible liquids are mixed.  Emulsions can be stabilized with a variety of simple alkyl surfactants, polymers and nanoparticles, with the latter two being potentially less toxic and more irreversibly adsorbed, respectively.  This presentation will report our recent results that compare how the molecular structure, hydrophobicity and charge play a role in the adsorption of these different emulsifiers at an oil-water interface, with a particular focus on nanoparticle assembly at oil-water interfaces.  The studies involve a combination of experimental spectroscopic (vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy) and thermodynamic (surface tension) measurements.

Molecular factors contributing to the assembly of emulsifying agents at the oil-water interface

244th National Meeting (2012)

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