ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Understanding the surface adsorption of random copolymer foaming surfactant at equilibrium

Abstract: The study investigates the equilibrium surface adsorption of random copolymer foaming surfactants. Previous research indicates random copolymers have superior performance compared to block copolymers and commercial polymeric surfactants. By applying neutron reflectometry (NR), the experiment aims to comprehensively understand the equilibrated interfacial structure of these copolymers, which is crucial for foam stability. The proposed experiment involves static NR measurements on a active anti-vibration 7-position trough with prepared samples in two solvent contrasts, allowing copolymers to fully adsorb to the surface without mechanical perturbation. By varying polymer compositions such as monomer fraction and molecular weight, the study seeks to establish correlations between equilibrated adsorption strength, dynamic adsorption rate, foamability and foam stability. The high penetration and non-destructive nature of neutron scattering make NR ideal for the investigation of equilibrium adsorbtion, with an estimated beamtime requirement of 48 hours, including preparation.

Principal Investigator: Professor Anthony Ryan
Local Contact: Dr John Webster
Experimenter: Dr Rachel Kilbride
Experimenter: Mr Xie Andi

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2420442

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2420442

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Professor Anthony Ryan et al; (2025): Understanding the surface adsorption of random copolymer foaming surfactant at equilibrium, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2420442

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.