LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-10DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04308
Xiujie Quan,Xing Wang,Lingyun Kong,Songxiang Zhu,Ning Zhang,Gang Lei,Guojun Cai
{"title":"Linking Mineral Surface Chemistry to the Interfacial Adsorption of Ionic Emulsifiers","authors":"Xiujie Quan,Xing Wang,Lingyun Kong,Songxiang Zhu,Ning Zhang,Gang Lei,Guojun Cai","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04308","url":null,"abstract":"Adsorption of ionic emulsifiers on mineral surfaces governs interfacial processes involved in emulsified asphalt systems, yet the fundamental relationship between mineral surface chemistry and adsorption remains elusive. Herein, five representative mineral components (CaCO3, Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, and MgO) were employed as model surfaces to elucidate how mineral surface chemistry regulates the adsorption of anionic sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS) and octadecyl trimethylammonium chloride (OTAC) using conductivity measurements, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results reveal that mineral surface chemistry, rather than specific surface area alone, plays a dominant role in determining adsorption affinity and selectivity. SDBS exhibited relatively high adsorption on Al2O3 and SiO2, whereas OTAC preferentially adsorbed on CaCO3 and Al2O3, demonstrating distinct mineral-dependent adsorption selectivity. Molecular simulations showed that stronger adsorption was generally accompanied by greater interfacial enrichment, stronger interaction energies, and lower molecular mobility, while the hydration environment of the ionic headgroups varied with mineral type. The different adsorption behaviors of SDBS and OTAC further reflect differences in the interactions between their ionic headgroups and mineral surfaces, as well as differences in molecular structure, with OTAC additionally exhibiting stronger intermolecular association associated with its longer hydrophobic chain. DFT calculations revealed pronounced heterogeneity in the local electrostatic environments of mineral surfaces and electrostatic complementarity between emulsifier headgroups and surface sites. These findings demonstrate that ionic emulsifier adsorption is governed by the combined effects of mineral surface chemistry, headgroup-surface interactions, interfacial hydration, and intermolecular association. This work provides fundamental insights into surfactant adsorption on mineral surfaces and offers a physicochemical basis for understanding and regulating interactions between aggregates and emulsifiers in emulsified asphalt.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149374790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pressure-Induced Plastron Collapse and Drag Reduction on Surfaces with Mushroom-Shaped Re-entrant Microstructures","authors":"Fujian Zhang,Xiang Gao,Zhen Liu,Yunyun Song,Zhongqiang Zhang","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05444","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05444","url":null,"abstract":"Superhydrophobic surfaces can reduce underwater skin-friction drag by sustaining a lubricating plastron at the solid–liquid interface. Their practical use, however, is limited by plastron collapse under elevated hydrostatic pressure. Inspired by the micro/nanotopography of springtail cuticles, we constructed a molecular dynamics model of a superhydrophobic surface with mushroom-shaped re-entrant microstructures (MSRM) that markedly improves pressure resistance and drag-reduction performance. The Cassie-to-Wenzel transition was identified from abrupt changes in the solid–liquid interfacial interaction energy. The critical plastron-collapse pressure increased nearly linearly with the projected microstructure area fraction, whereas enhanced hydrophobicity raised both the critical pressure and the critical contact angle. Within the parameter range examined, projected area fraction exerted a substantially stronger influence on plastron stability than surface wettability. A theoretical model was developed to describe the combined effects of projected area fraction, wettability, and characteristic size on the plastron-collapse pressure. Among the morphologies considered, the MSRM surface exhibited the highest initial Cassie-state critical pressure and the largest slip velocity, demonstrating favorable overall plastron stability and drag-reduction performance. The T-shaped microstructure exhibited two successive wetting thresholds associated with its upper and lower cap edges, suggesting a route toward multilevel pinning designs. These findings will provide a molecular-scale basis for the design of durable superhydrophobic drag-reducing surfaces.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Surface-Immobilized Core–Shell Polymer Nanoparticles as a Platform for Click-Mediated Attachments of Azide Dyes","authors":"Mariah Harris,Irma Zalyte Liascukiene,Gabriela Moran,Christophe Méthivier,Jessem Landoulsi,Anne Chantal Gouget-Laemmel,Gilles Clavier,Rachel Méallet","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04446","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04446","url":null,"abstract":"Dual-emissive fluorescent surfaces based on fluorescent nanoparticles (FNPs) require precise control of surface chemistry and photophysical properties. Here, we report core–shell polymeric FNPs bearing a BODIPY core and a hydrophilic shell that enables both amide coupling and SPAAC click chemistry for surface functionalization. Four azide-functionalized dyes spanning different fluorophore families (coumarin─AF343, cyanine─Cy3, rhodamine─ROX, BODIPY─BDP-TR) were selected to evaluate Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) with the FNPs. The photophysical properties of FNPs and Dye@FNPs were characterized in aqueous suspensions prior to grafting onto silica-based substrates functionalized by amino silane. These surfaces were characterized in depth at each step by XPS, ATR-FTIR, and AFM before reaction with the dyes via SPAAC. Steady-state measurements showed detectable ROX and BDP-TR emission on the resulting surfaces, while AF343 and Cy3 signals were limited. Time-resolved measurements revealed FNPs lifetime quenching upon grafting of Cy3, ROX, and BDP-TR, with BDP-TR providing the clearest evidence of FRET owing to its favorable spectral overlap and negligible emission overlap. These results establish SPAAC as a viable strategy for building Dye@FNPs surfaces across the visible spectrum and show that FNP-based FRET donor systems perform best with acceptors emitting in the orange-red range.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05510
Bin Wang,Dong-Jin Qian
{"title":"Encapsulation of Palladium Porphyrin in a Tetrapyridylphenylethylene-Based Molecular Cage for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance in Organized Thin Films","authors":"Bin Wang,Dong-Jin Qian","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05510","url":null,"abstract":"Metalloporphyrin photocatalysts often suffer from aggregation and difficulty in recovery, limiting the utilization of their photoactive sites. Here, we report the encapsulation of negatively charged palladium tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulfonic acid (PdTPPS) within a tetrapyridylphenylethylene (TPPE)-based molecular cage (TPPE-AB) to construct a single-site host–guest photocatalyst. The host–guest PdTPPS@TPPE-AB complexes enable efficient energy transfer from the cage to the porphyrin, as confirmed by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Organized thin films fabricated via the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique exhibit uniform morphology with highly exposed catalytic sites. In photocatalytic oxidation of thioanisole and oxidative coupling of benzylamine, the LB film catalyst delivered average turnover frequencies of 5.92 and 1066.3 h–1, respectively─approximately 27 and 2 times those of the corresponding powder counterpart─owing to superior active-site dispersion, high specific surface area, and reduced mass-transfer resistance. EPR spin-trapping measurements identify 1O2 and O2•– as key reactive species, and a corresponding mechanism is proposed. The LB film also shows good recyclability. This work offers a promising strategy for single-site photocatalysis in confined organized assemblies.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interfacial Engineering of Fe3O4-Decorated Activated Carbon for 5-Fluorouracil Loading and Diffusion-Controlled Release","authors":"Meral Turabik,Onur Mil,Cihan Geçgel,Utku Bulut Simsek","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05156","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to develop a magnetic activated carbon (MAC) composite by combining activated carbon with magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4–NPs) green-synthesized using citrus peel waste, an abundant agro-industrial byproduct, and to evaluate its potential as a drug delivery material using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a model anticancer drug. The synthesized MAC composite was characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, DLS, VSM, ζ potential, and N2 adsorption–desorption analyses. The adsorption of 5-FU onto MAC was optimized using response surface methodology, with pH, temperature, adsorbent concentration, and initial 5-FU concentration as the experimental variables. The MAC composite exhibited a high saturation magnetization of 25.5 emu/g, a ζ potential of 29.1 mV, a specific surface area of 538.2 m2/g, a mesopore diameter of 5.16 nm, and a total pore volume of 0.350 cm3/g. The optimum adsorption conditions were pH 6, 25 °C, 1 g/L MAC, and an initial 5-FU concentration of 80 mg/L. The Langmuir isotherm best described the equilibrium data, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 72.5 mg/g (R2 = 0.991). The adsorption kinetics agreed with both the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating electrostatic and chemical interactions between 5-FU molecules and the MAC surface, and the Weber-Morris model, which shows intraparticle diffusion. In 5-FU release studies conducted in phosphate buffer medium after drug loading onto the MAC, it was observed that 27.8% of the loaded drug was released into the solution immediately, after which a steady drug concentration was maintained. Drug release results demonstrate diffusion-controlled kinetics, with the best fit to the first-order, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Kopcha models. Overall, the fabricated MAC showed strong potential as a drug delivery carrier. Overall, the results demonstrate that the green-synthesized Fe3O4/activated carbon composite combines magnetic separability with substantial 5-FU adsorption capacity, highlighting its potential as a magnetic carrier for drug delivery applications.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04827
D. K. Kim,K. M. Hinnant,R. Ananth
{"title":"Diffusion Dynamics in Uniformly Thick Surfactant Films Formed on Hydrocarbon Liquids","authors":"D. K. Kim,K. M. Hinnant,R. Ananth","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04827","url":null,"abstract":"Diffusion through free-standing, micelle-laden, surfactant films is not well understood due to rapidly decreasing and nonuniform film thickness. Films formed on hydrocarbon liquids are flat, with slowly decreasing thickness. However, the film’s stability and vapor diffusivity have not been fully quantified and understood. We applied a fluorosurfactant solution gently on a hydrocarbon pool so that it fully covers the pool surface. The film is inherently unstable as it floats on a lower-density liquid. We have quantified the hydrocarbon diffusion rate, diffusivity, and film lifetime up to 3 h. The new measurements show that the film suppresses the diffusion rate significantly, but not completely, and quickly as soon as the film fully covers the pool. Thus, a quasi-steady-state diffusion is established quickly. After that, suppression decreases with time very slowly and eventually reduces to zero as the film is no longer an effective diffusion barrier. During this period, bubbles form, grow, and rupture on the film surface depending on the hydrocarbon volatility. The film becomes ineffective because its thickness decreases slowly due to slow evaporation of water and slow emulsification with the hydrocarbon. We also show that lifetime and suppression increase linearly with the spreading coefficient but not with decreasing vapor pressure of the hydrocarbons. As the spreading coefficient increases, it can spread a larger amount of solution quickly to form a thicker film that lasts for a longer time. We also show that an increase in surfactant concentration increases suppression and the film’s lifetime, while increased pool temperature decreases both. The film becomes ineffective as a result of a diffusion barrier at pool temperatures encountered under fire conditions.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04510
Yee-Kwong Leong,Peta L. Clode
{"title":"Structure Rebuilding Time-Dependent Behavior of NaMnt Gels in Aging and Stepdown Shear Stress Response: Hectorite Comparison and the Layer Charge Hypothesis","authors":"Yee-Kwong Leong,Peta L. Clode","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04510","url":null,"abstract":"The NaMnt (SWy-2) gels displayed structure rebuilding (SB) time-dependent behavior in the stepdown shear stress response at pH from 3 to 11. The electric double layer (EDL) face–face repulsion remained strong even at pH 3, to slow the edge-face bonding in forming the network. The strong EDL repulsion at pH 3 is solely due to its high permanent layer charge density of −0.11 C·m–2. Hectorite gel commenced to show time-independent SB behavior at pH ∼ 8. Its silica face charge density was at least as high as −0.11 C·m–2 at pH 8 with the layer charge contributing −0.08 C·m–2. The negative silica face charge density was postulated to be moderated by the relatively high positive edge charges of the lath-like hectorite platelet because of its high edge-to-face area ratio of 0.24 compared to only 0.0081 for NaMnt. Salt increased the structure rebuilding speed by creating more low-energy paths to edge-face bonding. It increased the bond density and strength reflected by the larger yield stress and shear stress. It also made the time-dependent behavior in the stepdown shear stress response milder and caused it to disappear at 0.1 M KCl for NaMnt and 0.01 M KCl for hectorite. Increasing the platelet charge density by adsorbed P2O74– made the 0.1 M KCl NaMnt gel display the time-dependent behavior. In aging where an imposed shear is absent, the 0.1 M KCl NaMnt gel continued to display time-dependent structure rebuilding behavior. The faster structure rebuilding speed at higher salt concentrations is also reflected by the smaller time constant of the Leong model used to fit the aging data. The pH-dependent charge contribution to NaMnt face charge density at pH 8 is small, ∼27%. NaMnt gel behavior is more stable and less sensitive to pH change.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05528
Jianyu Qiao,Yingjie Zhao,Yue Wang,Dengchao Wang
{"title":"NiFe (Oxy)hydroxide-Incorporated BiVO4 for Sensitive Photoelectrochemical Detection of Catecholamine","authors":"Jianyu Qiao,Yingjie Zhao,Yue Wang,Dengchao Wang","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c05528","url":null,"abstract":"The photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection of catecholamine neurotransmitters has been receiving great attention recently owing to the low cost, fast response, and easy operation. However, the conventional photoactive materials always have relatively low PEC activity, and the PEC signals are prone to interference from the inherent redox reactions at the photoelectrode. Herein, by incorporating the NiFeOOH cocatalyst at the BiVO4 photoelectrode (BiVO4/NiFeOOH), a much higher water oxidation photocurrent was obtained, due to the facilitated hole transport and rapid water oxidation kinetics at the modified ultrathin NiFeOOH layers. Photo-scanning electrochemical microscopy (photo-SECM) was further conducted to reveal the topography and PEC activity of the BiVO4/NiFeOOH, and the local O2 generation rate was inferred by fitting the experimental results. Besides increasing PEC activity, the incorporated NiFeOOH layers would also allow chelating coordination interactions with the catecholamine molecules to achieve sensitive PEC detection. The proposed method would not only offer a new PEC sensing approach for catecholamine detection but also be further expanded to detect other analytes of interest in the biological and environmental fields.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-Assembly and Hydration-Dependent Structure and Dynamics of AOTSiC Reverse Micelles in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide","authors":"Costas Vlahos,Ioannis Skarmoutsos,Apostolos Gkamas","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c04813","url":null,"abstract":"Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) is an attractive green solvent, but its low polarity limits the solubilization of polar and ionic compounds, motivating the development of surfactants capable of forming reverse micelles. Here, reverse micelles formed by silicon-modified aerosol OT (AOTSiC) with sodium counterions in scCO2 are investigated over a wide hydration range, W0 = 1.7–20.0, using a multiscale computational approach. Density functional theory calculations were combined with classical molecular dynamics simulations to develop a modified all-atom OPLS-AA force field with scaled charges and adjusted Lennard–Jones parameters. The experimentally reported aggregation behavior at the reference hydration, W0 = 5.0, was used as a target during force-field development. At this hydration level, the simulations yield stable reverse micelles with a mean aggregation number of 6, consistent with the experimental aggregation number distribution. At low hydration (W0 = 1.7), discrete micelles persist, whereas increasing hydration leads to coacervation at W0 = 13.3. Analysis of the confined water reveals a progressive transition, with decreasing hydration, from a connected hydrogen-bond network to a fragmented, ion-dominated structure characterized by increasing local heterogeneity. Intermittent hydrogen-bond dynamics and molecular reorientation slow progressively under stronger confinement, whereas continuous hydrogen-bond lifetimes are only weakly affected. Spectral densities further indicate reduced cooperative intermolecular motions and increased localization of sodium-ion dynamics. These results provide molecular-level insight into hydration-controlled self-assembly and water confinement in AOTSiC reverse micelles in scCO2.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LangmuirPub Date : 2026-11-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c06043
Chenluo Yang,Xitong Meng,Wenhe Yang
{"title":"Asymmetric Propylene Oxide Extension of Monorhamnolipid: Synthesis, Interfacial Behavior, and Enhanced Oil Recovery Performance","authors":"Chenluo Yang,Xitong Meng,Wenhe Yang","doi":"10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c06043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6c06043","url":null,"abstract":"Rhamnolipids are attractive biobased surfactants for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), but their interfacial activity and salt tolerance are limited by a compact molecular architecture. Here we graft short propylene oxide (PO) chains onto a monorhamnolipid (Rha-C10), obtaining three extended derivatives (RL4-POp, p = 3, 6, 9) via a selective protection–alkoxylation–deprotection sequence. Their interfacial performance varies nonmonotonically with the length of the PO spacer: the p = 6 derivative yields the lowest oil–water interfacial tension (3 × 10–3 mN·m–1 against crude oil at 45 °C, 0.3 wt % surfactant, 0.8–1.2 wt % added NaCl) and reduces the contact angle on naturally oil-wet core slices from 121.3° to 70.7°, while the p = 9 derivative exhibits inferior performance in the interfacial, emulsification, wettability, and displacement tests relative to RL4-PO6. In core flooding experiments, the RL4-PO6/HPAM formulation delivers 28.5 percentage points of incremental oil recovery after waterflooding, compared with 22.5 for RL4-PO9, 20.0 for RL4-PO3, 15.9 for unmodified RL4, and 12.4 for HPAM alone. Instead of acting merely as an added hydrophobic moiety, the PO spacer modulates molecular conformation. Spacer length is a tunable design parameter for rhamnolipid-based EOR surfactants.","PeriodicalId":50,"journal":{"name":"Langmuir","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149368376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}