Impact of the Hydrophobic Phase on the Interfacial Dilational Rheology of Alkoxy Carboxylate/Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Chloride Mixtures

Despite extensive investigations on the interfacial activities of mixed anionic and cationic surfactants (S_a/c), the influence of the hydrophobic phase on their interfacial assembly and dilational rheology remains unaddressed. In this study, the interfacial dilational rheology of alkoxy carboxylate (anionic)/cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (cationic) surfactant mixtures was studied at various interfaces. The dilational modulus of S_a/c increases linearly with interfacial pressure at the interfaces of air, n-hexane/n-octane/n-hexadecane, and toluene. The limit elasticity (ε₀) is similar at air and alkane interfaces but significantly decreases at the toluene interface. To explain these phenomena, all-atom molecular simulation was carried out to investigate the microscopic features of surfactants at the interface. The findings emphasize the crucial role of anionic/cationic surfactant bound pairs in regulating interfacial rheology. S_a/c tend to form large aggregates at the air/water surface. When mixed with alkanes like octane, most S_a/c remain as ion pairs. However, when toluene is employed, the coordination number between anionic and cationic surfactants sharply decreases due to π–π interactions between the toluene molecules and the phenyl groups in the anionic surfactant. This leads to a much lower interfacial modulus because interactions between oil molecules and surfactants cannot compensate for weakened interactions among anionic/cationic surfactants. These results suggest that S_a/c in this study tolerate alkanes but are not resistant to aromatics, which helps explain why S_a/c demonstrate excellent performance for the chemical enhanced oil recovery of a high-wax reservoir and further provides fundamental knowledge of their potential applications, such as gas well deliquification using foamers in the presence of condensate oil, textiles, etc.