Dielectric Spectroscopic and Molecular Simulation Evidence for Aggregation of Surfactant-stabilized Calcium Carbonate Nanocolloids in Organic Media

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Overbased Detergents on a Water Surface

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are reported of model overbased detergent nanoparticles on a model water surface which mimic their behavior on a Langmuir trough or large water droplet in engine oil. The simulations predict that the structure of the nanoparticle on a water surface is different to when it is immersed in a bulk hydrophobic solvent. The surfactant tails are partly directed out of the water, while the carbonate core maximizes its extent of contact with the water. Umbrella sampling calculations of the potential of mean force between two particles showed that they are associated with varying degrees with a maximum binding free energy of ca. 10 k_BT for the salicylate stabilized particle, ca. 8 k_BT for a sulfurized alkyl phenate stabilized particle, and ca. 5 k_BT for a sulfonate stabilized particle. The differences in the strength of attraction depend on the proximity of nearest approach and the energy penalty associated with the disruption of the hydration shell of water molecules around the calcium carbonate core when the two particles approach. This is greatest for the sulfonate particle, which partially loses the surfactant ions to the solution, and least for the salicylate, which forms the weakest water "cage". The particles are separated by a water hydration layer, even at the point of closest approach.

A molecular dynamics study of CaCO3 nanoparticles in a hydrophobic solvent with a stearate co-surfactant

Stearates containing overbased detergent nanoparticles (NPs) are used as acid neutralising additives in automotive and marine engine oils. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the self-assembly of calcium carbonate, calcium stearate as a co-surfactant and stabilising surfactants of such NPs in a model explicit molecular hydrophobic solvent have been carried out using a methodology described first by Bodnarchuk et al. [J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, 118, 21092]. The cores and particles as a whole become more elongated with stearate, and the surfactant molecules are more spaced out in this geometry than in their stearate-free counterparts. The rod dimensions are found to be largely independent of the surfactant type for a given amount of CaCO3. The corresponding particles without stearate were more spherical, the precise shape depending to a greater extent on the chemical architecture of the surfactant molecule. The rod-shaped stearate containing nanoparticles penetrated a model water droplet to a greater depth than the corresponding near-spherical particle, which is possibly facilitated by the dissociation of nanoparticle surfactant molecules onto the surface of the water in this process. These simulations are the first to corroborate the nanoparticle-water penetration mechanism proposed previously by experimental groups investigating the NP acid neutralisation characteristics.

Dielectric Behavior of Some Ferrofluids in Low-Frequency Fields

The dielectric behavior of a ferrofluid with magnetite particles dispersed in kerosene was analyzed taking into account the Schwarz model, concerning the low-frequency dielectric behavior in systems consisting of colloidal particles suspended in electrolytes. For this reason, the complex dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss factor, in the frequency range of 10 Hz-500 kHz, at different temperatures between 20 degrees C and 100 degrees C were measured. Based on these experimental results, the experimental dependencies on both temperature of the relaxation time and activation energy of the relaxation process were analyzed. The obtained results show that the Schwarz model can be applied, in order to explain the low-frequency dielectric behavior of a ferrofluid with magnetite particles in kerosene, if the change of counterion concentration at the surface of colloidal particles is taken into account. Consequently, it is shown that the dielectric spectroscopy can be used in order to analyze the presence of particle agglomerations within ferrofluids.