Polymer-Surfactant Interactions: Non Ionic Polymers with SDS and DTABr

Abstract

Polymer-surfactant interactions in water-SDS-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), water-SDS-polyoxyethylenglycol (PEO), water-(DTABr)-(PEO) and in water-SDS-polyoxypropylenglycol (PPO), systems have been investigated by ultrasonic relaxation, adiabatic compressibility and viscosity measurements.

Both the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic properties show significant changes at the critical association concentration in presence of polymer. As to the kinetic behaviour, investigation on systems containing PEO or PVP indicates the occurrence of a region where relaxation times are nearly constant. For the low molecular weight PPO polymer this effect has not been observed. Such differences have been ascribed to the minimum polymer chain length effect, required for the binding of surfactant aggregates on the polymer backbone. The dynamics of polymer-surfactant interactions has been discussed in terms of a kinetic model, previously proposed.