DIFFUSION-CONTROLLED SURFACTANT ADSORPTION STUDIED BY PENDANT DROP DIGITIZATION

Pendant drop tensiometry enhanced by video-image digitization is shown to be a useful tool for the experimental measurement of the relaxation in interfacial tension due to the adsorption of surfactant at a fluid interface. Using this method, profiles of the relaxation in surface tension of a diffusion-controlled, nonionic polyethoxy surfactant were measured. A diffusion coefficient was computed by comparing these profiles with numerical solutions of the bulk surfactant diffusion equation and a Frumkin equilibrium adsorption isotherm. This comparison was made for the entire relaxation period. This method establishes a more reproducible diffusion coefficient than current techniques that utilize only the short- or long-time parts of the relaxation spectrum. In addition, lower bounds on the kinetic constants for the sorption process are inferred for the polyethoxy surfactant used by comparing numerical solutions of mixed diffusion and surface kinetic transfer with the diffusion-limited result.