Abstract
Clouding phenomena and phase behaviors of two nonionic surfactants, Triton X-114 and Triton X-100, in the presence of either hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) or its hydrophobically modified counterpart (HMHEC) were experimentally studied. Compared with HEC, HMHEC was found to have a stronger effect on lowering the cloud point temperature of a nonionic surfactant at low concentrations. The difference in clouding behavior can be attributed to different kinds of molecular interactions. Depletion flocculation is the underlying mechanism in the case of HEC, while the chain-bridging effect is responsible for the large decrease of cloud point for HMHEC. Composition analyses for the formed macroscopic phases were carried out to provide support for associative phase separation for the case of HMHEC, in contrast to segregative phase separation for HEC. An interesting three-phase-separation phenomenon was reported in some HMHEC/Triton X-100 mixtures at high surfactant concentrations.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
