Adsorption and Self-Assembly of Surfactants on Metallic Surfaces

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The research project will employ experimental techniques and computer simulations to study the adsorption and self-assembly of surfactant molecules on metal-water interfaces, and their effect on the electrochemical nature of the interfaces. Corrosion-related failure of oil and gas pipelines is a significant health, safety, financial, and environmental problem. Surfactant molecules with imidazoline, amine and amido-amine based polar groups and hydrophobic alkyl chains are known to strongly adsorb and self-assemble onto metallic surfaces. These molecules are useful as inhibitors of corrosion in oil and gas pipelines. It is suggested that the self-assembled adsorbed films of these molecules mitigate corrosion by either repelling the corrosive species from metal-water interfaces, by rendering the interface hydrophobic, or by changing the electrochemical nature of the interface. Electrochemical experimental techniques will be employed to measure changes in electrical properties of metallic interfaces upon adsorption. The experimental results, combined with molecular simulations, will provide a comprehensive molecular picture of the phenomena. This level of understanding will be a significant step towards improving the methodologies of designing more effective corrosion inhibitor molecules for various applications.The phenomenon of adsorption and self-assembly of surfactants on metallic surfaces is fundamentally important for many catalysis and electrochemical applications. Because of high polarizability of metals, interactions between metals and polar molecules depend on the local environment. While there have been exciting new developments in improving our knowledge of metal-water interfaces, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the molecular-level details of adsorption of surfactant molecules on metallic surfaces. Many aspects of the phenomenon are only vaguely understood, such as the nature of binding between metal atoms and surfactant molecules; molecular orientation and packing in adsorbed films; factors promoting self-assembly; and the electrochemical nature of the interface. Using experimental techniques, such as electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and molecular simulations, the investigators seek to address each of these unknowns in the proposed research. In addition to training graduate and undergraduate students on interdisciplinary research projects, the investigators plan to pursue outreach activities in the Appalachian region of Ohio to provide an avenue for the citizens of this economically disadvantaged area to advance via education.