Syntheses, surface activities and aggregation morphologies of a series of novel itaconic acid based asymmetrical gemini surfactants

Gemini cationic surfactant of 1, 3-bis (dodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) propane as a novel excellent inhibitor for the corrosion of cold rolled steel in HCl solution

Gemini surfactants have become the research focus of novel excellent inhibitors because of their special structure (two amphiphilic moieties covalently connected at head group by a spacer) and excellent surface properties. It is proved by theoretical calculations that 1, 3-bis (dodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) propane (BDDACP) molecules can perform electron transfer with Fe (110). And it has a small fraction free volume, thus greatly reducing the diffusion and migration degree of corrosive particles. The potentiodynamic polarization curve showed that coefficients of cathodic and anodic reaction less than 1 and polarization resistance increased to 1602.9 Ω cm-2 after added BDDACP, confirming that BDDACP significantly inhibited the corrosion reaction by occupying the active site. The electrochemical impedance spectrum of imperfect semi-circle shows that the system resistance increases and double layer capacitance after added BDDACP. Weight loss tests also confirmed that BDDACP forms protective film by occupying the active sites on steel surface, and the maximum inhibition efficiency is 92 %. Comparison of the microscopic morphology showed that steel surface roughness was significantly reduced after added BDDACP. The results of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry show that steel surface contains some elements from BDDACP, which confirms the adsorption of BDDACP on steel surface.

Study on the Synthesis, Surface Activity, and Self-Assembly Behavior of Anionic Non-Ionic Gemini Surfactants

The use of surfactants in oil recovery can effectively improve crude oil recovery rate. Due to the enhanced salt and temperature resistance of surfactant molecules by non-ionic chain segments, anionic groups have good emulsifying stability. Currently, there are many studies on anionic non-ionic surfactants for oil recovery in China, but there is relatively little systematic research on introducing EOs into hydrophobic alkyl chains, especially on their self-assembly behavior. This article proposes a simple and effective synthesis method, using 3-aminopropane sulfonic acid, fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether, and epichlorohydrin as raw materials, to insert EO into hydrophobic alkyl chains and synthesize a series of new anionic non-ionic Gemini surfactants (CnEO-5, n = 8, 12, 16). The surface activity, thermodynamic properties, and self-assembly behavior of these surfactants were systematically studied through surface tension, conductivity, steady-state fluorescence probes, transmission electron microscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations. The surface tension test results show that CnEO-5 has high surface activity and is higher than traditional single chain surfactants and structurally similar anionic non-ionic Gemini surfactants. Additionally, thermodynamic parameters (e.g., ΔG°mic ΔH°mic ΔS°mic et al. indicate that CnEO-5 molecules are exothermic and spontaneous during the micellization process. DLS, p-values, and TEM results indicate that anionic non-ionic Gemini surfactants with shorter hydrophobic chains (such as C8EO-5) tend to form larger vesicles in aqueous solutions, which are formed in a tail to tail and staggered manner; Negative non-ionic Gemini surfactants with longer hydrophobic chains (such as C12EO-5, C16EO-5) tend to form small micelles. The test results indicate that CnEO-5 anionic non-ionic Gemini surfactants have certain application prospects in improving crude oil recovery.

The Effect of Halide Counter Ions and Methanol on the Foaming Behavior of Cationic Surfactants and a Mechanism Study

In this work, four quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants including cetyltrimethyl ammonium fluoride (CTAF), cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetyltrimethyl ammonium iodide (CTAI) were investigated to study the effect of halide anions on the surface activity and foaming performance. The result showed that CTAF had superior surface activity, which could reduce the surface tension of water to 33.15 mN/m at a low CMC (critical micelle formation concentration) of 1.65 mmol/L. Based on the calculation of Amin (the minimum occupied area per surfactant molecule), we assumed that this higher surface activity was related to the small ionic radius of the fluorine ion (F–). The foamability and foam stability of CTAF has great advantages over other surfactants studied. On this basis, the factors affecting the formation and stabilization of the CTAF foam were investigated. The results showed that foam formation benefited from high temperatures and low methanol concentration, while high salinity was beneficial for foam stability. When CTAF at a concentration of 0.2% was used as a foaming agent, foaming was excellent at a methanol concentration of 10%, a salinity of 22 ⨯ 104 mg/L, and a temperature of 90°C. With this study, uncertainties that existed in the literature regarding the effect of anion on surface activity and foam performance were explained and the effect of temperature, methanol and salinity on foam generation and stabilization was understood.