Effect of pH on adsorption and desorption of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide from silicate surface

Hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), a cationic surfactant, is physically adsorbed on negatively charged silicate surfaces due to electrostatic forces. This reversible adsorption process is important for surfactant regeneration in some industrial applications such as waste water treatment. Cationic surfactant adsorption and desorption from silica surfaces were studied using several methods such as UV, FTIR, XPS, and XRD. However, most of these methods are time independent and ex situ in nature. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is a power tool that can determine the amount and thickness of the deposited material on the surface in situ as a function of time. In this study, the adsorption and desorption characteristic of HTAB was studied on the silica sensor surface by using QCM-D. The adsorption and desorption tests were performed at a constant HTAB concentration (5·10-4 M, close to CMC of HTAB) at different pH values (3, 5.5, 6.5 and 10). The results obtained from these studies clearly showed that pH is a critical factor determining the adsorption and desorption processes.