Amine functionalized surfactants — pH effects on adsorption and interaction.

The interactions between layers of two hydrolyzable surfactants, dodecylamine (DA) and tetraoxyethylene dodecylamine (TEDA), adsorbed on negatively charged muscovite mica have been investigated. It was found that the variation of the interaction and adsorption as a function of pH was similar, but not identical, for the two kinds of surfactants. At a concentration of 10−4 M at low pH (below 8) both types of surfactants adsorb electrostatically to form a monolayer. The resulting surfaces have a hydrophobic character, particularly in the case of dodecylamine. A series of events takes place as the pH is increased. For DA the first event is that uncharged molecules adsorb within the monolayer. This does not occur to any significant degree for TEDA due to steric hindrance within the adsorbed layer. In the next step a bilayer builds up on the surface. The binding of the outer layer is stronger for DA than for TEDA. The DA bilayer becomes uncharged at pH 10.3, and liquid dodecylamine droplets, which phase separate from the bulk solution at this pH-value, precipitate on the surface. At pH-values above 11∔12 the affinity between both types of surfactants and the surface decreases significantly, resulting in a less ordered first layer. In addition, a strong surface charge develops that prevents multilayer build-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]