The dynamic interfacial adsorption and demulsification behaviors of novel amphiphilic dendrimers

Abstract The dynamic surface tension and dilational viscoelasticity properties of amphiphilic polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers were investigated to probe the hydrophobic chain effect on the interfacial properties and the demulsification behaviors. The values of dynamic parameters n and t * representing diffusion speed of the molecules obtained according to the Rosen equation decreased with the increasing of bulk concentration. Taking the hydrophobic effect into consideration, the t * values decreased and n values increased with the increase of alkyl chain length, suggesting easier adsorption and faster diffusion for longer hydrophobic chain which was opposite to the tendency of traditional surfactants. Further dilational viscoelasticity studies demonstrated that the properties referring to adsorption and exchange-diffusion were probably affected by the aggregates conformation at the interface. Subsequently, from the demulsification experiments a conclusion can be drawn that the amphiphilic dendrimers with branched dendritic structure possesses superior properties of breaking W/O crude oil emulsions, showing a certain correlation to the dilational viscoelasticity properties.