Synthesis, colloidal-chemical and petroleum collecting properties of new counterion coupled gemini surfactants based on hexadecylbis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine and dicarboxylic acids

Abstract

Eight new cocogem surfactants were obtained as a result of the chemical synthesis between hexadecylbis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine and eight different dicarboxylic acids. Solutions of these cocogem surfactants were prepared at the different concentrations and their surface tension values were measured by Du-Nouy ring method to determine the surface active abilities. Electric conductivity measurements were carried out and, by using the obtained values, very important characteristics of the synthesized surfactants were investigated. The parameters which were determined based on these measurements are critical micelle concentration (CMC), counterion binding degree, surface excess, minimum area occupied by one molecule. Moreover, thermodynamic properties such as Gibbs energy of adsorption and micellization were calculated. It became clear that the spacer group in the surfactant chain strongly influences the properties of the surfactants. By changing the type and the length of the spacer chain, the properties also change considerably. The petroleum collecting ability of the synthesized cocogem surfactants were investigated.