Adsorption on solid surfaces from solution is a fundamental property of a surfactant. It might even be the most important aspect of surfactant behavior, since it influences many applications, such as cleaning, detergency, dispersion, separation, flotation, and lubrication. Consequently, fundamental investigations of surfactant adsorption are relevant to many areas. The main aim of this thesis has been to elucidate the adsorption properties, primarily on the solid/water interface, of a particular class of polyhydroxyl based surfactants: the alkyl glucosides. By the use of ellipsometry, the equilibrium and kinetic aspects of adsorption on titanium dioxide with respect to structural effects has been studied. Furthermore, the effects of small amounts of cationic surfactant additives on the adsorption on silica have been investigated. The results have been compared with similar studies for other nonionic surfactants. We have found that the surfactant structure has a strong effect on the adsorption properties. An increase in the surfactant chain length increases the cooperativity of the system. An increase in the head group polymerization decreases the cooperativity and the plateau adsorbed amount at equilibrium. The effect of surfactant structure on the adsorption kinetics depends on the concentration relative to the cmc, while the there is a decrease in the rate of desorption with increasing hydrophobic chain length independent of the concentration. The adsorption/desorption process is concluded to be diffusion driven, as suggested by the model used. When comparing these results with studies on ethylene oxide based surfactants, we conclude that the two types of surfactants exhibit similar trends on surfaces onto which they adsorb. Adsorption from binary surfactant solutions is even more interesting than adsorption from single surfactant solutions, since it brings us one step closer to the systems used in applications. In addition, adsorption from a mixture can be very different from adsorption from any of the single surfactants in the mixture. Alkyl glucosides alone do not adsorb on silica, but addition of small amounts of a cationic surfactant to the alkyl glucoside solution allows for adsorption on silica. A comparison between the adsorption and bulk properties has shown that mixed micellization explains most, but not all, effects of the coadsorption properties. Changing the pH in the mixed systems reveals that a surfactant with a pH-dependent charge and the ability to adapt its charge to the environment, e.g. a surface, enhances the adsorbed amount over a wider range of pH values than a purely cationic surfactant. It is well known that alkyl glucosides and ethylene oxides adsorb differently on different types of hydrophilic surfaces. As a consequence, replacing ethylene oxides with alkyl glucosides might not be all straight-forward; however, we have shown that the effect of the surface can be eliminated by the use of a cosurfactant. / <p>QC 20101018</p>

[pt] O uso de espumas de CO2 em métodos de recuperação avançada de petróleo tem se mostrado promissor para a exploração dos reservatórios do Pré-sal no Brasil. Porém, o ambiente altamente salino destes reservatórios e as características físico-químicas do CO2 influenciam na estabilidade das espumas, afetando o desempenho das mesmas. Surfactantes zwitteriônicos baseados em óxidos de alquildimetilamina (CXDAO) possuem predomínio de cargas positivas em pH ácido, tornando atrativa sua utilização devido à esperada baixa adsorção em rochas carbonáticas. Este trabalho avaliou a formação e a estabilidade de espumas de CO2 formuladas com o óxido de dodecildimetilamina (C12DAO) em água deionizada e em salmoura, usando como referência um surfactante catiônico de igual cauda hidrofóbica. Os resultados mostraram que a presença de sais não afeta a espumabilidade, porém diminui a estabilidade da espuma, sendo o efeito menor para a espuma de C12DAO do que com o surfactante catiônico. Essa resistência à salinidade foi atribuída à maior compactação dos surfactantes no filme interfacial, como resultado da formação de ligações de hidrogênio entre as espécies neutra e catiônica do óxido de amina em pH ácido. Um efeito adicional na estabilidade das espumas foi verificado quando a cadeia alquílica do surfactante foi aumentada para 14 átomos de carbono (C14DAO). Em concentrações superiores a 0,5 por cento m/m em salmoura, o C14DAO gerou soluções altamente viscosas, possivelmente devido à formação de micelas alongadas. Em consequência, as espumas de C14DAO com CO2 apresentaram uma redução drástica tanto na taxa de drenagem quanto de crescimento das bolhas, retardando a coalescência e levando a um aumento significativo da estabilidade da espuma no meio salino. / [en] The use of CO2 foams in advanced oil recovery methods has been promising for the exploration of Brazilian Pre-salt reservoirs. However, the highly saline environment of these reservoirs and the physico-chemical characteristics of CO2 influence the stability of the foams, affecting their performance. Zwitterionic surfactants based on alkyldimethylamine oxides (CXDAO) have a predominance of positive charges in acidic pH, making their use attractive due to the expected low adsorption on carbonate rocks. This work studied the formation and stability of CO2 foams formulated with dodecyldimethylamine oxide (C12DAO) in deionized water and in brine, using as a reference a cationic surfactant with the same hydrophobic tail. The results showed that the presence of salts did not affect the foamability, however it decreased the foam stability, with a lesser effect for C12DAO foam than with the cationic surfactant. This resistance to salinity was attributed to the greater compaction of surfactants in the interfacial film, due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between the neutral and the cationic species of amine oxide at acid pH. An additional effect on foam stability was seen when the surfactant alkyl chain was increased to 14 carbon atoms (C14DAO). At concentrations above 0.5 wt percent in brine, C14DAO generated highly viscous solutions, possibly due to the formation of elongated micelles. As a result, CO2 foams formed with C14DAO showed a drastic reduction in both the drainage and the bubble growth rates, delaying coalescence and leading to a significant increase in foam stability in the saline medium.

<p>Adsorption on solid surfaces from solution is a fundamental property of a surfactant. It might even be the most important aspect of surfactant behavior, since it influences many applications, such as cleaning, detergency, dispersion, separation, flotation, and lubrication. Consequently, fundamental investigations of surfactant adsorption are relevant to many areas.</p><p>The main aim of this thesis has been to elucidate the adsorption properties, primarily on the solid/water interface, of a particular class of polyhydroxyl based surfactants: the alkyl glucosides. By the use of ellipsometry, the equilibrium and kinetic aspects of adsorption on titanium dioxide with respect to structural effects has been studied. Furthermore, the effects of small amounts of cationic surfactant additives on the adsorption on silica have been investigated. The results have been compared with similar studies for other nonionic surfactants.</p><p>We have found that the surfactant structure has a strong effect on the adsorption properties. An increase in the surfactant chain length increases the cooperativity of the system. An increase in the head group polymerization decreases the cooperativity and the plateau adsorbed amount at equilibrium. The effect of surfactant structure on the adsorption kinetics depends on the concentration relative to the cmc, while the there is a decrease in the rate of desorption with increasing hydrophobic chain length independent of the concentration. The adsorption/desorption process is concluded to be diffusion driven, as suggested by the model used. When comparing these results with studies on ethylene oxide based surfactants, we conclude that the two types of surfactants exhibit similar trends on surfaces onto which they adsorb.</p><p>Adsorption from binary surfactant solutions is even more interesting than adsorption from single surfactant solutions, since it brings us one step closer to the systems used in applications. In addition, adsorption from a mixture can be very different from adsorption from any of the single surfactants in the mixture. Alkyl glucosides alone do not adsorb on silica, but addition of small amounts of a cationic surfactant to the alkyl glucoside solution allows for adsorption on silica. A comparison between the adsorption and bulk properties has shown that mixed micellization explains most, but not all, effects of the coadsorption properties. Changing the pH in the mixed systems reveals that a surfactant with a pH-dependent charge and the ability to adapt its charge to the environment, e.g. a surface, enhances the adsorbed amount over a wider range of pH values than a purely cationic surfactant.</p><p>It is well known that alkyl glucosides and ethylene oxides adsorb differently on different types of hydrophilic surfaces. As a consequence, replacing ethylene oxides with alkyl glucosides might not be all straight-forward; however, we have shown that the effect of the surface can be eliminated by the use of a cosurfactant.</p>