Surfactants and Interfacial Phenomena 3rd Edition

Book Preface

The more than a decade since publication of the second edition has seen considerable progress in a number of important areas of surfactant chemistry, necessitating the publication of a third edition. This edition, consequently, contains a number of areas not included in the previous edition.

These include an entire chapter on ‘‘gemini’’ surfactants (surfactants with two hydrophilic and two or three hydrophobic groups in the molecule), which have evoked intense interest, both academic and industrial, because of their unique properties. Also included are guidelines for the selection of surfactant pairs for the optimization of surfactant properties and sections on ‘‘green’’ surfactants from renewable resources, estimation of marine organism toxicity and bioconcentration of surfactants from their physico-chemical properties, dynamic surface tension reduction, synergy in wetting and ‘‘superwetting’’ by mixtures of surfactants, foaming of aqueous dispersions of finely divided solids, and demulsification by surfactants.

Areas covered in the previous edition have been expanded and upgraded to reflect new developments. Tables of physico-chemical constants of surfactants, including critical micelle concentrations, areas/surfactant molecule at interfaces, and surfactant–surfactant interaction parameters have been greatly increased. Additional problems have been provided at the ends of the chapters.

I should like to acknowledge and thank a number of colleagues and former students for their assistance with this edition. I am grateful to Randy Bernhardt and Gregory Dado of Stepan, Manilal Dahanayake of Rhodia, Paul Berger of Oil Chem Technologies, Kazayuki Tsubone (now retired) of Kanebo, Richard Thomas of OMNOVA Solutions, and Michael Cox and Dewey Smith of Sasol for their help in updating the section on commercially available surfactants. I am indebted to Arno Cahn for his assistance with the section on detergent ‘‘builders.’’ My former doctoral student, Qiong Zhou, provided some of the figures.

Great Neck, New York MILTON J. ROSEN