Physico-Chemical Properties of Selected Anionic, Cationic and Nonionic Surfactants

The number of physico-chemical investigations of surfactants in solution, whether aqueous or nonaqueous, has dramatically increased in recent years. However, literature reports on surfactants in solutions are scattered over a plethora of scientific journals and books which differ widely in scope and readership. Such data are often difficult to retrieve because there have been no systematic compilations, with the exception of those for CMCs and for micelle aggregation numbers. The present compilation meets that need by covering, as completely as possible, the physico-chemical properties of selected series of homologous surfactants. These surfactants are in most cases isomerically pure, are well-known, and have been used in numerous academic and industrial studies. The properties include aggregation number, cloud point, CMC, ¹³C-NMR, correlation length, counterion binding, density, enthalpy of micelle formation, entropy of micelle formation, Gibbs' free energy of micelle formation, head group area, ¹H-NMR, hydration number, Krafft temperature, melting point, micelle radius, microscopic viscosity, miscibility curve, partial molar volume, phase inversion temperature, refractive index, self-diffusion coefficient, surface tension, and upper critical temperature. The book also contains two- and three-component phase diagrams of many nonionic surfactants.

The solvent is water in most cases; however, some data refer to properties in D2O, electrolyte solutions, and nonaqueous solvents. The variables are temperature and concentration. Where possible, the method of measurement is given. Data on the purity of the compounds and the accuracy of the measurement methods are not included, as these can easily be found in the original sources, which mostly date from the period 1970-1991 and are given at the end of each chapter. The Index section contains a compound index, a property index, a symbol index and a cross index which facilitate easy access to the data.

This valuable collection of data will be of great use to anyone involved in Colloid and Surface Science, academics as well as industrial workers, and will stimulate further work.