Micellization and Adsorption Behaviors of New Reactive Polymerizable Surfactants Based on Modified Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylates

The synthesis and characterization of a series of polymerizable surfactants based on alkyl phenol ethoxylate backbone and carboxylic or anhydride chain ends were investigated. Surface activities of these polymerizable surfactants were investigated to correlate their structure and their performances. The new bifunctional surfmers were prepared by reacting polyoxyethylene 4-nonyl-2-propylene-phenol nonionic reactive surfactants with maleic anhydride. The chemical structure of the prepared surfactants was characterized by ¹³C and ¹H NMR analyses. The surface activities of the modified polymerizable surfactants were measured from the adsorption isotherm measurements which were determined from the relationship between the concentrations and surface tension of surfactants in aqueous medium at different temperatures. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) values were determined for water soluble surfactants. It was found that CMC decreases with the incorporation of the anhydride and acid groups in the chemical structure of polyoxyethylene 4-nonyl -2-propylene-phenol nonionic surfactant. surface-active parameters such as area per molecule at the interface (A _min), surface excess concentration (Γ_max) and the effectiveness of surface tension reduction (π_CMC) were measured from the adsorption isotherms of the modified surfactants. Some thermodynamic data for the adsorption process were calculated and discussed. The data indicated that the new surfmers are more reactive than the simple polyoxyethylene 4-nonyl-2-propylene-phenol and more adsorbed at interfaces. We have performed a preliminary experiment to explore the emulsification efficiency of the newly synthesized reactive surfactants in equal volume oil–water emulsions. Different emulsion types and stabilities were obtained.