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Aqueous Foam of Surfactant–Polymer Composites: Properties and Applications

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Dr. Chaohang Xu

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School of Safety Science and Emergency Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: aqueous foam; surfactants; polymers; molecular dynamics simulation; dust control; fire fighting

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aqueous foam is widely used in the fields of dust control, fire fighting, mineral flotation, oil recovery, daily chemical products, etc. Polymers are often added to surfactant solutions to improve the properties of aqueous foam, such as foaming ability, foam stability, foam fluidity, foam viscoelasticity, etc. Different application fields have different requirements for foam performance. In addition, due to the large number of surfactants and polymers, the interaction between different surfactant and polymer molecules at the gas–liquid interface of foam film can differ significantly, resulting in different properties. Therefore, selecting an appropriate formula to meet the requirements of aqueous foam in various applications is a challenge.

This Special Issue of Polymers invites contributions that explore the formation and stability mechanisms of aqueous foam, the interaction between surfactant and polymers, and the properties and applications of aqueous foam of surfactant–polymer composites. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following research areas: aqueous foam; surfactants; polymers; foaming ability; foam stability; foam fluidity; foam viscoelasticity; molecular dynamics simulation; interaction between surfactants and polymers; aqueous foam applications.

Dr. Chaohang Xu
Guest Editor

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Research

14 pages, 8640 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Poly(ethylene oxide) on the Foam Properties of Anionic Surfactants: Experiment and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

by Chaohang Xu, Ran Bi, Sijing Wang, Xiaojun Tang, Xiaolong Zhu and Guochun Li

Polymers 2025, 17(17), 2361; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17172361 - 30 Aug 2025

Viewed by 213

Abstract

Water-soluble polymers are often used as additives to adjust the foam properties of surfactant. In this study, the effects of water-soluble polymer poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on foam properties of two anionic surfactants, i.e., ammonium lauryl ether sulfate (ALES) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), were investigated by experimental and molecular dynamics simulation methods. Experimental results show that the addition of PEO can reduce the foaming ability of the two surfactants, but the inhibitory effect of PEO on the foaming ability is weakened at high surfactant concentration. Compared with ALES, PEO has a more significant inhibitory effect on the foaming ability of SDS. With the increase in PEO concentration, the half-life time of foam drainage in surfactant/water-soluble polymer composite systems gradually increases. The synergistic effect between PEO and ALES is stronger than that between PEO and SDS, resulting in a longer half-life time of foam drainage in ALES/PEO composite system. Molecular dynamics simulation results indicate that the addition of PEO can decline the air–water interface thickness of bubble films and the tail tilt angle of surfactant molecules at the air–water interface. The reduction in tail tilt angle means that the surfactant molecules are more vertical to the air–water interface and the hydrophobic interaction between adjacent tail chains of surfactants is weakened, which is unfavorable to the formation of bubble films, thus decreasing the foaming ability of surfactants. Because the ALES/PEO system has larger air–water interface thickness and surfactant tail tilt angle than the SDS/PEO system, the inhibitory effect of PEO on the foaming ability of ALES is weaker than that of SDS. Adding PEO can lower the peak position of the first hydration layer of surfactant head groups, increase the number of hydrogen bonds, and reduce the diffusion coefficient of water molecules, so that the surfactant/water-soluble polymer system has longer half-life time of foam drainage than the pure surfactant system. Due to the synergistic effect between ALES and PEO, the ALES/PEO system has a higher peak value of the first hydration layer of surfactant head groups, more hydrogen bonds, and lower diffusion coefficient of water molecules than the SDS/PEO system. Therefore, the half-life time of foam drainage in the ALES/PEO system is longer than that in the SDS/PEO system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aqueous Foam of Surfactant–Polymer Composites: Properties and Applications)

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16 pages, 2509 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Experimental Method and Setup to Quantify Evaporation-Induced Foaming Behavior of Polymer Solutions

by Xiaoyi Qiu, Zhaoqi Cui, Ming Zhao, Jie Jiang, Wenze Guo, Ling Zhao, Zhenhao Xi and Weikang Yuan

Polymers 2025, 17(15), 2025; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17152025 - 24 Jul 2025

Viewed by 348

Abstract

This study provides a novel experimental setup and methodology for the quantitative investigation of evaporation-induced foaming behaviors in a polymer/small-molecule solution system (PSMS). In traditional dynamic test methods, it is difficult to precisely describe the evaporation-induced foaming process of a multicomponent solution because the concentration of light components in solution continuously decreases during ebullition, causing undesired changes in foaming behavior. In this study, a precisely controlled condensation reflux module was introduced into the setup to maintain pressure, temperature, and concentration of the PSMS at constant levels during the entire ebullition process, allowing dynamic test methods to quantify the evaporation-induced foamability. With this newly proposed device, experimental data of typical PSMS, polyolefin elastomer (POE)/n-hexane solution system, were obtained and modeled to illustrate the foam growth profile, thereby characterizing the dynamic foaming process based on a logistic growth function. The corresponding dimensionless number Σevap was calculated to evaluate evaporation-induced foam stability by analyzing the foam growth profile under varying pressure, concentration, and energy input levels. Furthermore, given that the PSMS represents a highly non-ideal system, the bubble nucleation rate J was modified in this work by introducing a correction coefficient δ to account for the non-ideal effects of macromolecules present in solutions. Additionally, another correction coefficient λ was incorporated into the Gibbs free energy term to adjust for supersaturation of liquid during nucleation. The experiment’s data align well with the modified bubble nucleation rate mechanism proposed herein. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aqueous Foam of Surfactant–Polymer Composites: Properties and Applications)

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