Kinetics of Surfactant Adsorption at Fluid/Fluid Interfaces: Non-ionic Surfactants

Abstract

We present a model treating the kinetics of adsorption of soluble surface-active molecules at the interface between an aqueous solution and another fluid phase. The model accounts for both the diffusive transport inside the solution and the kinetics taking place at the interface using a free-energy formulation. In addition, it offers a general method of calculating dynamic surface tensions. Non-ionic surfactants are shown, in general, to undergo a diffusion-limited adsorption, in accord with experimental findings.