Enhancement of the Surface Activity for Some Monomeric and Polymeric Thiol Surfactants Using Silver Nanoparticles

Abstract

In the present work, the self-assembling of some synthesized thiol surfactants namely (6-(3-amino phenoxy) hexane-1-thiol, 8-(3-amino phenoxy) octane-1-thiol, 10-(3-amino phenoxy) decane-1-thiol, 12-(3-amino phenoxy) dodecane-1-thiol, and their polymers on silver nanoparticles was investigated. The self-assembling of these surfactants on silver nanoparticles was characterized using different techniques such as ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), electrone diffraction (ED), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of the self-assembling of these surfactants on the stabilization of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was studied using TEM images. The growth of the silver nanoparticles was investigated with respect to the increase of alkyl chain in the synthesized thiol surfactants. The effect of silver nanoparticles on the surface, interfacial tension, and the emulsion stability of these surfactants with paraffin oil was studied. The results show that the silver nanoparticles have the ability to effect on the behavior of these surfactants in solution and improve their surface activity.

Keywords:

• Thiol surfactants
• silver nanoparticles
• surface activity