Surfactants in water

1. Surfactants in water
Kardan University
Uploaded By: Engr.Ahmad Sameer Nawab

2. Overview
Structure,
Surface tension,
Addition of surfactants,
CMC,
Purifying water

3. Structure of surfactants
Hydrophilic= water loving, due to the H bonding between
the head group and the water
Hydrophobic= water hating, interaction between the tail
and water is unfavorable
Hydrophilic heads (
Cationic, anionic and
natural)
Hydrophobic tails
(hydrocarbons)

4. Surface tension
Interaction amongst the water molecules
One of the methods used to measure: Wilhelmy plate
technique
Surface tension of pure water = 72.8 nMn-1

5. Addition of surfactants in
the solution
Surface active molecules get adsorbed on to the surface
Their hydrophobic tails stick out of the water
Hydrophilic heads stay in contact with water
After every addition of surfactants the surface will be occupied
Resulting in a monolayer ( where no more surfactants can be
adsorbed)

6. CMC (Critical micelle
concentration)
• Micelle= specific
geometrical structure
• Tails are inverted and
their heads form a
boundary
• Resulting in to a more
favorable structures
within the solution

7. Purifying water
Contaminated water having different chemicals can
be removed with the use of these amphiphilic
compounds
Charged particles interact with one another through
ionic bonding

8. Thank You
