Tunable interfacial control of short-chain alcohol evaporation from aqueous systems via reverse-flow gas chromatography

Abstract

Evaporation rate coefficients (K_G) and diffusion coefficients (D) in alcohol–water systems were simultaneously quantified using reversed-flow gas chromatography (RF-GC). The measurements show that hydrogen bonding in aqueous mixtures reduces K_G relative to pure components, while increasing temperature enhances both K_G and D, consistent with thermally activated mass transfer. The presence of surfactants significantly alters interfacial transport: nonionic and cationic surfactants decrease K_G by forming interfacial barriers, whereas anionic surfactants increase K_G by disrupting interfacial structure. These results demonstrate that interfacial resistance is a controlling factor in evaporation and can be systematically modulated through surfactant chemistry. The study establishes RF-GC as an effective method for coupled determination of evaporation and diffusion parameters and provides quantitative evidence for tunable control of evaporation via interfacial modification.