Spreading of Multi-component Oils on Water

The spreading of multi-component oils on water has been investigated by direct observations and predicted from measurements of the interfacial tensions and surface tensions of decane, toluene, heptane, and their mixtures. Pure decane does not naturally spread at ambient conditions, as indicated by its negative spreading coefficient. However, when decane is mixed with toluene and heptane, the mixture spreads on water over a wide range of compositions. The spreading coefficients are highly nonlinear with respect to concentration and feature a maximum. The spreading is ascribed to preferential accumulation of toluene at the oil/water interface and heptane at the oil/vapor interface. Molecular dynamics simulations corroborate the hypothesis of preferential accumulation. The accumulation of lighter alkanes at the oil/vapor interface reduces the surface tension, and the accumulation of aromatics at the oil/water interface decreases the interfacial tension. As a consequence, the oil mixture spreads over water.