Adsorption and Structural Arrangement of Cetyltrimethylammonium Cations at the Silica Nanoparticle−Water Interface

Solid phase adsorption of crystal violet lactone on silica nanoparticles to probe mechanochemical surface modification

The solid phase adsorption of crystal violet lactone (CVL) on five types of Stober silica nanopowders with BET specific surface areas in the range of 50-800 m2/g under dry milling conditions was described for the first time. The hydrogen bonding between surface silanol and the carboxylate of the ring-opened triphenylmethane dye (CVL+) led to the formation of monolayers of CVL+ in a flat-laid configuration. The lambda max of CVL+ in diffusive reflection visible spectra was influenced by the particle size of silica powders, suggesting that the microenvironmental polarity of adsorbed CVL+ is considerably reduced along with the decrease of the particle size. The solid phase adsorption of CVL obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherms to give a saturated amount of CVL+ for every silica nanoparticle. The surface concentration of CVL+ on nanoparticles at the saturation was estimated to be 0.31 mg/m2 on average, disclosing that about 52% of the surface can be covered by CVL+ under the assumption that the BET-specific surface areas are equivalent to the real surfaces active for the CVL adsorption. The generation of the blue color of CVL provided a convenient means to estimate qualitative and quantitative analysis of the surface coverage with surface-active reagents, which conceal surface silanols. Subsequently, silica nanoparticles were milled with a surface modifier, followed by milling with CVL to observe the intensity of the blue color in order to disclose that the surface coverage with oligo- and polyethylene glycols as well as with nonionic surfactants by dry milling was specifically determined by the number of repeating oxyethylene units. Although the surface-active reagents were easily desorbed in water, the desorption was notably suppressed by milling with CVL, suggesting that the surface-modified particles with the surface-active reagents are covered with ultrathin films of CVL.

Protolytic equilibrium in lyophilic nanosized dispersions: Differentiating influence of the pseudophase and salt effects

The so-called apparent ionization constants of various acids (mainly indicator dyes) in versatile organized solutions are analyzed. Aqueous micellar solutions of colloidal surfactants and related lyophilic colloidal systems display a strong differentiating influence on the acidic strength of indicators located in the dispersed pseudophase, i.e., non-uniform changes of pKa on going from water to the given system. This concept allows the influence of such media on acid-base properties of dissolved reagents to be rationalized. It is demonstrated that the differentiating phenomenon is the main reason for limitation of the common electrostatic model of acid-base interactions, and is the principal hindrance to exact evaluations of the interfacial electrical potentials of ionic micelles by means of acid-base indicators. Salt effects, i.e., the influence of supporting electrolytes on the apparent ionization constants of acid-base indicators in the Stern region of ionic micelles, are considered. These salt effects can be conventionally divided into two kinds, namely, general (normal) and special (specific) effects. While the first type adds up to screening of the surface charge, the second one consists in micellar transitions caused by hydrophobic counterions.

Electrolyte-induced phase separation and charge reversal of cationic zwitterionic micelles

The solution properties and anion recognition selectivity of the N-dodecyl-N,N,N',N',-tetramethyldiethylenediammonio-propane sulfonate bromide (DEPB) and N-dodecyl-N,N,N',N',-tetramethyl-1,3-propylenediammonio-propane sulfonate bromide (DPPB) micelles have been studied. These micelles have similar properties except for the phase behavior induced by coexistent anions. The addition of ClO4(-) or I(-) to aqueous DEPB causes phase separation, and further addition results in the dissolution of the separated phases. In contrast, no phase separation occurs for DPPB. Charge reversal of the micelles occurs during the addition of the anions. The difference in the phase behavior between DEPB and DPPB comes from the different sizes of the micelles; the addition of ClO4(-) allows the formation of large aggregates of DEP (~50 nm in diameter).

Interfacial properties of cetyltrimethylammonium-coated SiO2 nanoparticles in aqueous media as studied by using different indicator dyes

In this paper, we compare the properties of SiO(2)/water interface modified by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with those of CTAB spherical micelles. The suspension of uniform silica nanoparticles coated with CTAB adlayer was investigated by using a set of acid-base indicators. The study of the colloidal system has been provided using electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering methods; the diameter of the initial SiO(2) particles in dried state was ca. 40 nm. The increase in the zeta-potential value of nanoparticles from -34 to +(37-54) mV on going from pure silica suspension to the CTAB-containing system points on the silica surface recharging and formation of surfactant bilayer (or multilayer) on the silica/water interface. To obtain further information about the interfacial surfactant adlayer, the behavior of different indicator dyes has been studied in CTAB-modified SiO(2) suspension. Comparison of the indices of apparent ionization constants, i.e., pK(a)(a) values of phenol red, bromothymol blue, and fluorescein with those determined in CTAB micellar solutions have confirmed the supposition about certain similarity between CTAB-covered silica nanoparticles and common spherical surfactant micelles. However, the experiments on kinetics of bromophenol blue fading, as well as the spectral properties of methyl orange and solvatochromic Reichardt's indicator and some other data revealed the specificity of surfactant-coated silica nanoparticles, presumably, originating from their surface morphology.

Effect of anionic surfactants on synthesis and self-assembly of silica colloidal nanoparticles

Effects of the anionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium oleate, on the formation and properties of silica colloidal nanoparticles were investigated. At a concentration of approximately 1 x 10(-3) M, adsorption of anionic surfactants increased particle size, monodispersity, and negative surface charge density of synthesized silica particles. As uniformity of particle size and particle-particle interactions increase, colloidal photonic crystals readily self-assemble without extensive washing of the synthesized silica nanoparticles. The photonic crystals diffract light in the visible region according to Bragg's law. The assembled colloidal particle arrays exhibit a face-centered cubic structure in dried thin films. This study offers a new approach for producing ordered colloidal silica thin films.

Interfacial assembly of partially hydrophobic silica nanoparticles induced by ultrasonic treatment

A sonochemical approach has effectively been applied to prepare aqueous dispersions of air-filled nanostructured quartz silica shells from surface-engineered amorphous silica nanoparticles. The non-equilibrium nature of the cavitation process and high temperature and pressure in the cavitation microbubble can lead to partial crystallization of the amorphous silica nanoparticles producing the quartz phase and a high degree of interconnection between the silica nanoparticles in the microsphere shells. The very high stability of the silica shells against collapse and aggregation is determined by the hydrophobic nature of the silica nanoparticles. Because of the shell thickness and its high density caused by sintering of the silica nanoparticles, the gas (liquid) permeability through the shell is limited thus prolonging the life time of the air-filled nanostructured silica shells.

Synergistic interaction in emulsions stabilized by a mixture of silica nanoparticles and cationic surfactant

Using a range of complementary experiments, a detailed investigation into the behavior of dodecane-water emulsions stabilized by a mixture of silica nanoparticles and pure cationic surfactant has been made. Both emulsifiers prefer to stabilize o/w emulsions. At high pH, particles are ineffective emulsifiers, whereas surfactant-stabilized emulsions become increasingly stable to coalescence with concentration. In mixtures, no emulsion phase inversion occurs although synergism between the emulsifiers leads to enhanced stability at either fixed surfactant concentration or fixed particle concentration. Emulsions are most stable under conditions where particles have negligible charge and are most flocculated. Freeze fracture scanning electron microscopy confirms the presence of particle flocs at drop interfaces. At low pH, particles and surfactant are good emulsifiers alone. Synergism is also displayed in these mixtures, with the extent of creaming being minimum when particles are most flocculated. Experiments have been undertaken in order to offer an explanation for the latter synergy. By determining the adsorption isotherm of surfactant on particles in water, we show that surfactant addition initially leads to particle flocculation followed by re-dispersion. Using suitable contact angle measurements at oil-water-solid interfaces, we show that silica surfaces initially become increasingly hydrophobic upon surfactant addition, as well as surfactant adsorption lowering the oil-water interfacial tension. A competition exists between the influence of surfactant on the contact angle and the tension in the attachment energy of a particle to the interface.

Effect of Nanoparticles on the Interfacial Properties of Liquid/Liquid and Liquid/Air Surface Layers

An investigation is reported on the interfacial properties of nanometric colloidal silica dispersions in the presence of a cationic surfactant. These properties are the result of different phenomena such as the particle attachment at the interface and the surfactant adsorption at the liquid and at the particle interfaces. Since the latter strongly influences the hydrophobicity/lipophilicity of the particle, i.e., the particle affinity for the fluid interfacial environment, all those phenomena are closely correlated. The equilibrium and dynamic interfacial tensions of the liquid/air and liquid/oil interfaces have been measured as a function of the surfactant and particle concentration. The interfacial rheology of the same systems has been also investigated by measuring the dilational viscoelasticity as a function of the area perturbation frequency. These results are then crossed with the values of the surfactant adsorption on the silica particles, indirectly estimated through experiments based on the centrifugation of the dispersions. In this way it has been possible to point out the mechanisms determining the observed kinetic and equilibrium features. In particular, an important role in the mixed particle-surfactant layer reorganization is played by the Brownian transport of particles from the bulk to the interface and by the surfactant redistribution between the particle and fluid interface.

Trimethylamine as a Probe Molecule To Differentiate Acid Sites in Y−FAU Zeolite: FTIR Study

In heterogeneous catalysis acidity has a very important influence on activity and selectivity: correct determination of acidic properties is a base to improve industrial processes. The aim of this work was to study trimethylamine (TMA) as a probe molecule able to distinguish between the different Brønsted acid sites in zeolitic frameworks. Our work mainly focused on faujasite-type zeolites because the HY zeolite is one of the most used acidic catalysts in industrial processes. In this paper, typical IR bands assigned to TMA-protonated species (formed in supercages) are detected in the HY zeolite. TMA interacting by hydrogen bonding with the acid sites located in the sodalite units is also observed. The wavenumbers of some typical IR bands assigned to TMA-protonated species appear to depend on the acidic strength, and a complementary study with ZSM-5 and X-FAU samples confirms this proposition.

Self-Assembly of Two- and Three-Dimensional Particle Arrays by Manipulating the Hydrophobicity of Silica Nanospheres

The surface hydrophobicity of colloidal silica (SiO2) nanospheres is manipulated by a chemical graft of alkyl chains with silane coupling agents or by physical adsorption of a cationic surfactant. The surface-modified SiO2 spheres can be transferred from the aqueous phase to organic solvents and readily self-assemble at the water-air interface to form two-dimensional (2D) particle arrays. Closely packed particle monolayers are obtained by adjusting the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the synthesized SiO2 spheres and may further be transferred onto solid substrates layer by layer to form three-dimensional (3D) ordered particle arrays with a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystalline structure. The 2D monolayer and 3D multilayer SiO2 films exhibit photonic crystal properties, which were determined by the UV-visible spectroscopic analysis in transmission mode. In the multilayer films, the Bragg diffraction maxima increased with an increase in thickness of the particle layers. The experimentally observed diffraction positions are in good agreement with those that were theoretically calculated.