Sonochemical degradation of surfactants with different charge types: Effect of the critical micelle concentration in the interfacial region of the cavity

Ionic surfactants tend to accumulate in the interfacial region of ultrasonic cavitation bubbles (cavities) because of their surface active properties and because they are difficult to evaporate in cavitation bubbles owing to their extremely low volatilities. Hence, sonolysis of ionic surfactants is expected to occur in the interfacial region of the cavity. In this study, we performed sonochemical degradation of surfactants with different charge types: anionic, cationic, zwitterionic, and nonionic. We then estimated the degradation rates of the surfactants to clarify the surfactant behavior in the interfacial region of cavitation bubbles. For all of the surfactants investigated, the degradation rate increased with increasing initial bulk concentration and reached a maximum value. The initial bulk concentration to obtain the maximum degradation rate had a positive correlation with the critical micelle concentration (cmc). The initial bulk concentrations of the anionic surfactants were lower than their cmcs, while those of the cationic surfactants were higher than their cmcs. These results can be explained by the negatively charged cavity surface and the effect of the coexisting counterions of the surfactants.

Automated summary

This study investigated sonochemical degradation of surfactants with different charge types, and found that the degradation rate increased with increasing initial bulk concentration until reaching a maximum value. The initial bulk concentration to obtain the maximum degradation rate was positively correlated with the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Anionic surfactants had lower initial bulk concentrations compared to their cmcs, while cationic surfactants had higher initial bulk concentrations than their cmcs, which can be explained by the negatively charged cavity surface and the effect of the coexisting counterions of the surfactants.