Micellization of anionic gemini surfactants and their interaction with polyacrylamide

Study on Adsorption Characteristics of Sulfonate Gemini Surfactant on Lignite Surface

In order to explore the adsorption characteristics of sulfonate gemini surfactants on the surface of lignite, the molecular dynamics simulation method was used, and A kind of sulfonic acid bis sodium salt (S2) and the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were selected. A binary model of surfactant/lignite adsorption system and a ternary model of water/surfactant/lignite system were constructed, and a series of properties such as adsorption configuration, interaction energy, order parameters, relative concentration distribution, number of hydrogen bonds, etc., were analyzed. The results showed that the adsorption strength of S2 on the surface of lignite was higher than that of SDS. The results indicated that the large-angle molecular chain in S2 tended to become smaller, the small-angle molecular chain tended to become larger, and the angle between the molecular chains and the Z axis tended to be concentrated, making the formed network structure denser during the adsorption process. The number of hydrogen bonds in the water-coal system was 42, and the number of hydrogen bonds in the system after S2 adsorption was 15, which was much lower than the 23 hydrogen bonds in the system after SDS adsorption, and S2 could better adsorb and wrap the oxygen-containing groups on the surface of the lignite. The comparative study of the adsorption characteristics of the two surfactants on the surface of lignite can help us better understand the influence of the surfactant structure on the adsorption strength. The research results have important theoretical and practical significance for developing new surfactants, and enriching and developing the basic theory of coal wettability.

Interaction Mechanism of Different Surfactants with Casein: A Perspective on Bulk and Interfacial Phase Behavior

Understanding the interaction mechanism between proteins and surfactants is conducive to the application of protein/surfactant mixtures in the food industry. The present study investigated the interaction mechanism of casein with cationic Gemini surfactant (BQAS), anionic Gemini surfactant (SGS), anionic single-chain surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]), and two biosurfactants (rhamnolipid [RL] and lactone sophorolipid [SL]) at the interface and in bulk phase. BQAS/casein and SDS/casein mixtures exhibit a strong synergistic effect on the surface activity. For SGS, RL, and SL, the formation of surfactant/casein complexes caused no improvement in surface activity. Dilational elasticity results indicate the displacement of casein by SGS, RL, and SL at the surface. However, the BQAS/casein complexes manifested varying dilational properties from pure casein surface. The strong electrostatic interaction between BQAS and casein produced large-size precipitate particles. For other surfactants, no precipitate particles formed. Determination of ζ-potential, UV-vis absorption spectra, and fluorescence spectra demonstrated the stronger interaction of BQAS and SDS with casein than that of SGS, RL, and SL. Addition of BQAS initially increased and then decreased the α-helix structure of casein. For SGS, RL, and SL, no noticeable change occurred in the casein structure. However, the formation of SDS/casein complexes was conducive to the casein structure. In conclusion, the interaction between BQAS and casein is similar to that of cationic single-chain surfactant. Furthermore, SGS exhibits a significantly different interaction mechanism from the corresponding monomer (SDS), possibly resulting from its excellent interfacial activity, low critical micelle concentration values, and strong self-assembly capability. For RL and SL, the weak interaction is attributed to the relatively complicated structure and less charged degree of hydrophilic headgroups.

Experimental Study of Sulfonate Gemini Surfactants as Thickeners for Clean Fracturing Fluids

Hydraulic fracturing is one of the important methods to improve oil and gas production. The performance of the fracturing fluid directly affects the success of hydraulic fracturing. The traditional cross-linked polymer fracturing fluid can cause secondary damage to oil and gas reservoirs due to the poor flow-back of the fracturing fluid, and existing conventional cleaning fracturing fluids have poor performance in high temperature. Therefore, this paper has carried out research on novel sulfonate Gemini surfactant cleaning fracturing fluids. The rheological properties of a series of sulfonate Gemini surfactant (DSm-s-m) solutions at different temperatures and constant shear rate (170 s−1) were tested for optimizing the temperature-resistance and thickening properties of anionic Gemini surfactants in clean fracturing fluid. At the same time, the microstructures of solutions were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results showed that the viscosity of the sulfonate Gemini surfactant solution varied with the spacer group and the hydrophobic chain at 65 °C and 170 s−1, wherein DS18-3-18 had excellent viscosity-increasing properties. Furthermore, the microstructure of 4 wt.% DS18-3-18 solution demonstrated that DS18-3-18 self-assembled into dense layered micelles, and the micelles intertwined with each other to form the network structure, promoting the increase in solution viscosity. Adding nano-MgO can increase the temperature-resistance of 4 wt.% DS18-3-18 solution, which indicated that the rod-like and close-packed layered micelles were beneficial to the improvement of the temperature-resistance and thickening performances of the DS18-3-18 solution. DS18-3-18 was not only easy to formulate, but also stable in all aspects. Due to its low molecular weight, the damage to the formation was close to zero and the insoluble residue was almost zero because of the absence of breaker, so it could be used as a thickener for clean fracturing fluids in tight reservoirs.

Impact of multiple quaternary ammonium salts on dynamic properties of BSA adsorption layer at different pH values

The interaction mechanism of multiple quaternary ammonium salts (MQAS) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was examined by the fluorescence quenching method and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. Moreover, the effects of MQAS on the dynamic properties of BSA adsorption layers at different pH values were investigated using dilational interfacial rheology. Results show that the quenching constants increase with an increase in pH values and decrease with an increase in the experiment temperature at pH 5.3. The quenching mechanism is static quenching, and the electrostatic force dominates the interaction between MQAS and BSA at pH 5.3. Due to three positive head groups, MQAS can significantly affect the dynamic interfacial activity of BSA molecules at a relatively low concentration. At pH 4.3, the electrostatic repulsion is unfavorable for the formation of MQAS/BSA complexes. Consequently, MQAS molecules will replace BSA molecules from the interface by competitive adsorption. At the pH value above the isoelectric point of BSA, the electrostatic attraction is better for the formation of MQAS/BSA complexes, which exhibit a rapid adsorption rate and an enhanced interfacial activity. Moreover, the kinetic dependencies of interfacial dilational elasticity for the MQAS/BSA mixtures become nonmonotonous. The appearance of the maximum interfacial elasticity values can be attributed to the formation of tails and loops, which suggests that the addition of MQAS destroys the secondary and tertiary structure of protein in the bulk phase. In addition, the effects of MQAS on the secondary structure of protein were demonstrated by CD spectra.

Study on the Properties of Mixed Micelles of Disodium Salt of 3-({2-[(2-Carboxy-ethyl)-dodecanoyl-amino]-ethyl}-dodecanoyl-amino)-propionic Acid in Solution Systems

This study focuses on the properties of mixed micelles of di-sodium salt of 3-({2-[(2-Carboxy-ethyl)-dodecanoyl-amino]-ethyl}-dodecanoyl-amino)-propionic acid (symbolized as DLMC) in solution systems (DLMC/DTAB and DLMC/AEO6). The micro-polarity of the mixed micelles was determined by the fluorospectrophotometer. When the concentration is above CMC, the micellar micro-polarity and the aggregation number (Nm) of the mixed micelles were measured by a steady state fluorescence quenching method. The average hydrodynamic radius (Rh) of the mixed micelles was studied by means of dynamic light scattering. The results show that the micro-polarity of micelle nucleus decreases obviously with increasing concentration. The aggregation number of DLMC mixed systems is smaller than that of single surfactants. The difference of the proportion of the two surfactants has little effect on the aggregation number of mixed systems. It is easy to generate molecular aggregates with lower curvature from DLMC than the corresponding monomeric surfactant (DTAB), and DLMC can generate huge linear micelles at low concentrations when mixed with other surfactants.