Polymer-surfactant interactions demonstrated by a kinetic probe: degree of ionization

Enhancing Lignin Dissolution and Extraction: The Effect of Surfactants

The dissolution and extraction of lignin from biomass represents a great challenge due to the complex structure of this natural phenolic biopolymer. In this work, several surfactants (i.e., non-ionic, anionic, and cationic) were used as additives to enhance the dissolution efficiency of model lignin (kraft) and to boost lignin extraction from pine sawdust residues. To the best of our knowledge, cationic surfactants have never been systematically used for lignin dissolution. It was found that ca. 20 wt.% of kraft lignin is completely solubilized using 1 mol L-1 octyltrimethylammonium bromide aqueous solution. A remarkable dissolution efficiency was also obtained using 0.5 mol L-1 polysorbate 20. Furthermore, all surfactants used increased the lignin extraction with formic acid, even at low concentrations, such as 0.01 and 0.1 mol L-1. Higher concentrations of cationic surfactants improve the extraction yield but the purity of extracted lignin decreases.

Fluorescence visualization of interactions between surfactants and polymers

An aggregation-induced emission luminescent surfactant is used to visualize the interactions between surfactants and polymers.

Estimation of degree of counterion binding and thermodynamic parameters of ionic surfactants from cloud point measurements by using triblock polymer as probe

Cloud point (C(P)) was measured for ternary mixtures of different ionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and dimethylene bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide) (12-2-12) plus triblock polymer (TBP) ((PEO)(2)(PPO)(15.5)(PEO)(2)) plus water, keeping the concentration of TBP constant and varying the surfactant concentration from pre- to postmicellar regions. These experiments were also performed in the presence of different fixed amounts of NaBr to evaluate the salt effect on the clouding behavior of these ternary mixtures. The C(P) value of TBP exhibits a drastic change at the cmc of each surfactant. The cmc values thus obtained both in the absence and in the presence of NaBr were used to evaluate counterion binding (beta) with the Corrin-Harkins method. beta values were also used to evaluate the thermodynamic parameters of these ionic surfactants. The results suggest that the beta values evaluated using this method, especially at low [TBP], are in good agreement with those reported in the literature.

Investigation of the Interactions of Polyvinylpyrrolidone with Mixtures of Anionic and Nonionic Surfactants or Anionic and Zwitterionic Surfactants by Pulsed Field Gradient NMR

The interaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), a nonionic surfactant (pentaethylene glycol monodecyl ether, C(10)E(5)), and a zwitterionic surfactant (lauryl amido propyl betaine, LAPB) has been investigated by means of pulsed gradient spin-echo NMR (FT-PGSE NMR), allowing self-diffusion coefficients to be determined. The results confirm the strong interaction prevailing in the PVP/SDS system, whereas no association has been observed in the PVP/C(10)E(5) and PVP/LAPB systems. Mixing PVP with two surfactants, namely SDS and C(10)E(5) or SDS and LAPB, results in the formation of ternary aggregates between the polymer and the mixed micelles. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Ideal Mixing of Polymer-Surfactant Complexes of Polyethylene Oxide and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Plus Sodium Dodecanoate

Mixtures of the anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecanoate (SDoD) were investigated regarding their ability to bind to a hydrophilic nonionic polymer, polyethylene oxide (PEO). By electrical conductivity measurements, the parameters with respect to the onsets of surfactant aggregation were determined in the presence of 0.06 M PEO (critical aggregation concentration) and in its absence (critical micelle concentration). It was found that both plots of these parameters for the multicomponent mixtures against molar fraction of SDoD showed an ideal mixing behavior. The same technique was used to estimate the degree of ionization as a fundamental parameter relating to the interfacial composition of mixed aggregates. In addition, in order to monitor changes in polymer-surfactant structures, we used steady-state quenching fluorescence measurements to characterize the sizes of PEO-SDS/SDoD complexes at different compositions of the complex mixture. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

The Absence of Conventional Polymer-Surfactant Interaction between Sodium Monodecyl Phosphate and Poly(ethylene Oxide): Conductivity and Kinetic Evidence

Mixtures of sodium monodecyl phosphate (NaDeP) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been investigated conductimetrically in 0.05 M succinate buffer, pH 5.20. The conductivity vs NaDeP concentration profiles do not show the classical behavior of PEO-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) mixtures. In the presence of different concentrations of PEO, the profiles exhibit only one discontinued point, whose SDS concentration values are similar to the NaDeP critical aggregation concentration. It was observed also that this conductivity breakpoint is not sensitive to variation in the polymer concentration and that it is independent of polymer molecular weight. However, the conductivity profiles of mixtures of NaDeP and SDS demonstrate behavior similar to that of SDS alone. For these mixtures, the evidence of binding, absent in the presence of NaDeP alone, is interpreted by assuming that it is solely driven by the SDS.