Photoresponsive Foams Generated by a Rigid Surfactant Derived from Dehydroabietic Acid

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00934

Innovation in the structure of surfactants is crucial to the construction of a surfactant-based system with intriguing properties. With dehydroabietic acid as a starting material, a nearly totally rigid azobenzene surfactant (R-azo-Na) was synthesized. Th

Full text of DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00934

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Article
Photoresponsive Foams Generated by a Rigid
Surfactant Derived from Dehydroabietic Acid
Lan Lei, Danhua Xie, Binglei Song, Jianzhong Jiang, Xiaomei Pei, and Zhenggang Cui
Langmuir, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00934 • Publication Date (Web): 22 Jul 2017
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Photoresponsive Foams Generated by a Rigid Surfactant Derived from
Dehydroabietic Acid
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Lan Lei,1 Danhua Xie, 2 Binglei Song, ∗,1 Jianzhong Jiang,1 Xiaomei Pei,1 and Zhenggang Cui1
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1Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical
& Materials Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122
2Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Featured Materials in Biochemical Industry; Fujian Province
University Key Laboratory of Green Energy and Environment Catalysis, Ningde Normal
University, Ningde, Fujian 352100
ABSTRACT
Innovation in the structure of surfactants is crucial to the construction of a surfactant-based
system with intriguing properties. With dehydroabietic acid as a starting material, a nearly totally
rigid azobenzene surfactant (R-azo-Na) was synthesized. The trans-R-azo-Na formed stable foams
with half-lives of 636, 656, 976, and 872 min for 0.3, 1, 2, and 4 mmolꢀL-1 aqueous solutions,
respectively. Under UV light irradiation, a fast collapse of the foams was observed, showing an in
situ response. The excellent foam stability of trans-R-azo-Na leads to the extremely high
photoresponsive efficiency. As revealed by dynamic surface tension and pulsed-field gradient
NMR methods, an obvious energy barrier existed in the adsorption/desorption process of
trans-R-azo-Na on the air/water interface. The foams formed by trans-R-azo-Na are thus stable
against coarsening processes. The results reveal the unique photoresponsive behavior of a
surfactant with a rigid hydrophobic skeleton and provide new insights into the structure causing
aggregation of surfactants.
KEYWORDS: Dehydroabietic acid, Photoresponsive foams, rigid surfactant, azobenzene
∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ccfsbl@jiangnan.edu.cn
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Introduction
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Surfactants that are responsive to external stimuli, such as pH1-4, electrolyte5-6, magnetic field7,
temperature8-9, light3, 10-11, and CO2/N212-14, have received substantial attention in recent years15.
Numerous smart systems, such as emulsions16-17, viscoelastic solutions18-22 and foams23-27, have
been developed using these surfactants and have shown attractive stimuli-responsive behaviors.
Among all the triggers investigated, light irradiation is particularly attractive. First, it does not
pollute the surfactant solutions28 and can be operated in a clean environment29. Second, light
irradiation can be directed at a precise spatial location. These features are especially suitable to
control foams, which are heterogeneous and occupy massive space. Aqueous foams are metastable
systems with dispersed gases separately wrapped by thin liquid films, where surfactants are often
used as foaming agents and foam stabilizers30-31. Investigations on foamability and foam stabilities
are important in both theory and applications. While in some industrial processes, such as foam
flooding and foam flotation, defoaming is also a crucial step for smooth processing. The addition
of antifoaming agents is one of the traditional methods to eliminate previously produced foams.
However, it does not only bring out changes to the system composition but also hinders the
regeneration of foams, which is unfavorable in some cyclic processes. The foam systems that
respond to external stimuli32-37, such as light, can overcome the above shortcomings and have
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shown promising behaviors in potential applications as recently reported38-42
.
In a photoresponsive foam system, the efficiency of response, that is, the discrepancy in the
foam stability caused by light, is the key characteristic that is concerned. Significant discrepancy
in foam stability before and after light irradiation indicates high photoresponsive efficiency. The
development of highly effective photoresponsive foam systems is beneficial for practical
applications. Azobenzene is a popular group with good reversibility that is widely used in
photoresponsive systems43-45. It has a rigid skeleton, which can experience trans-cis isomerization
under UV/Vis light irradiation. The photoresponsive properties of a system containing an
azobenzene surfactant mainly rely on the configuration change caused by the azobenzene
isomerization. Inspecting the available investigated foam systems, it can be seen that the
azobenzene surfactants utilized all contain flexible alkyl chains. To lower the free energy of the
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system, the alkyl chains may twist or bend in solution, which weakens the light-triggered changes
in the molecular configuration to some extent. In contrast, if the hydrophobic skeleton of an
azobenzene surfactant is totally rigid, it can fully express the effect of the molecular configuration
change and is expected to achieve a remarkable photoresponsive efficiency. To the best of our
knowledge, studies about photoresponsive surfactants with totally rigid hydrophobic skeletons for
use in foam systems have never been reported.
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The synthesis of a rigid surfactant with satisfactory surface activity remains challenging.
Fortunately, nature gives us the opportunity to examine our thoughts. Rosin, a secretion of pine, is
composed mainly of abietic acids with rigid tricyclic structures. Dehydroabietic acid is one of the
important derivatives of rosin with favorable chemical stability. With this rigid acid as a starting
material, a nearly totally rigid surfactant containing an azobenzene group (R-azo-Na, shown in
Scheme 1) was synthesized. The photoresponsive properties of foams generated by R-azo-Na
were investigated. Since R-azo-Na is a water-soluble surfactant with a rigid structure, the results
obtained are beneficial to understand the peculiar self-assembly principles of rigid surfactants.
Scheme 1. The synthetic scheme of R-azo-Na.
Experimental section
Materials
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Disproportionated rosin (containing 42.5% dehydroabietic acid, technical grade) was purchased
from Nanjing Pine Forests Chemistry Co., Ltd. Ethyl 2-bromoacetate (>98%) was obtained from
Aladdin Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). All other solvents and reagents were of analytical
grade and used without further purification.
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Synthesis
The reaction scheme is shown in Scheme 1. The detailed synthetic processes are included in the
Supporting Information. The brief synthetic procedure is described as follows.
Dehydroabietic acid was first purified to reach a purity of 97.9% in our lab. Methyl
dehydroabietate (1) was synthesized by the reaction of dehydroabietic acid and SOCl2 and
anhydrous methanol at 60 °C. Methyl dehydroabietate reacted with NBS at room temperature for
7 hours to obtain methyl 12-bromo-dehydroabietate (2), which was then mixed with nitric acid
(88%)
and
concentrated
sulfuric
acid
(95-97%)
to
obtain
12-bromo-13-nitro-deisopropyldehydroabietate (3). Methyl 13-aminodeisopropyldehydroabietate
(4) was obtained by the reduction of 12-bromo-13-nitro-deisopropyldehydroabietate with H2 with
a Pd/C catalyst. An aqueous solution of sodium nitrite was dropped onto a mixture of concentrated
hydrochloric acid and methyl 13-aminodeisopropyldehydroabietate below 5 °C to obtain a
diazonium salt, which was then added to the aqueous solution of sodium phenolate to obtain
R-azo-OH. R-azo-Et was obtained by the reaction of R-azo-OH and ethyl 2-bromoacetate at 60 °C
in DMF. The target material R-azo-Na was obtained as an orange solid after saponification of
1
R-azo-Et with NaOH and then dried under vacuum. The H NMR was then used to reveal the
chemical shifts of the protons attaching with the carbon atoms in the R-azo-Na molecules. The
number of carbon atoms has been denoted in Scheme 1. The number in front of H indicates the
number of H atoms at the position. 1H NMR (400 MHz, MeOD) δ 7.84 (d, 2H, C20-1H, C24-1H),
7.61 (d, 1H, C12-1H), 7.53 (s, 1H, C14-1H), 7.41 (d, 1H, C11-1H), 7.06 (d, 2H, C21, 23-2H),
4.47 (s, 2H, C25-2H), 3.67 (s, 3H, C16-3H), 3.04-2.88 (m, 2H, C7-2H), 2.42 (d, 1H, C1-1H), 2.21
(dt, 1H, C5-1H), 1.95 – 1.66 (m, 5H, C2-2H, C3-2H, C6-1H), 1.46 (dt, 2H, C1-1H, C6-1H), 1.29
(d, 6H, C17,18-6H); HRMS Calcd for C26H29N2O5Na [M-Na]-: 449.2082; Found: 449.2083.
Light irradiation
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The light irradiation experiments were carried out with an IWATA UV-201SA point light (9 W)
(Japan) for a set period of time.
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UV-Vis spectra
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The UV-Vis spectra of the aqueous solutions of R-azo-Na before and after UV light irradiation
were obtained with a double-beam UV-visible light spectrophotometer TU-1901 (Beijing Purkinje
General Instrument Co., Ltd.) between 250 and 550 nm. For monitoring the photoisomerization
purpose, the sample was first diluted to be measured.
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NMR measurements
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The H NMR and 13C NMR spectra were carried out with a Bruker Advance III 400 MHz
spectrometer (Bruker, Switzerland) on samples in 0.5 mL MeOD at 25 °C. In addition, the
1HNMR of R-azo-Na at the photostationary state after UV light irradiation was recorded by
dissolving the R-azo-Na in 0.5 mL MeOD and irradiating with UV light for 10 min. The
self-diffusion coefficient of R-azo-Na at 0.1 mmolꢀL-1 was measured with a Bruker 600 MHz
spectrometer (Bruker, Switzerland) on samples in D2O (pH = 12) at 25 °C.
Equilibrium and dynamic surface tensions
All prepared surfactant solutions were adjusted to pH = 12 with NaOH to prevent the hydrolysis
of R-azo-Na. The equilibrium surface tensions before and after UV light irradiation were
measured using the du Noüy ring method46 at 25 °C. The photostationary state of the R-azo-Na
solutions after UV light irradiation was assured by measuring their UV-Vis spectra. The dynamic
surface tensions of R-azo-Na isomers were measured with a SITA science line t100 tensiometer
(Germany) at different temperatures.
Fluorescence measurements
Nile red was selected as a fluorescence probe. Fluorescence measurements of different
concentrations of R-azo-Na (pH = 12) before and after UV light irradiation were carried out with a
Cary Eclipse fluorospectrophotometer (USA). The excitation wavelength and emission
wavelength used were 540 nm and 550 nm, respectively. The bandwidths of both slits were set to
5 nm.
Foam investigation and light irradiation
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Aqueous solutions (5 mL) of R-azo-Na and SDS at different concentrations were prepared in 50
mL volumetric cylinders with plugs. The volumetric cylinders were shaken up and down 25 times
to generate the foams. The changes of volumes including water volume fraction of the foams
formed by trans-R-azo-Na and SDS with time were recorded. To investigate the foam size, the
sample of the foam was placed on a microscope slide and was observed using a VHX-1000
microscope system (Keyence Co.). The surface dilational measurements on trans-R-azo-Na and
SDS were carried out using an optical angle meter OCA-20 with oscillating drop accessory
ODG-20 (DataPhysics). For light irradiation purposes, 5 mL of aqueous surfactant solutions of
trans-R-azo-Na at different concentrations were prepared in 26.5-mL quartz tubes (15 cm (h) ×
1.5 cm (d)). The quartz tubes were shaken up and down 25 times to generate the foams, which
were then irradiated with a UV light beam perpendicular to the tube at a distance of about 1.5 cm.
Results and discussion
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Photoresponsive properties of R-azo-Na in aqueous solutions
non- irradiated
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
UV light irradiation for 20 s
UV light irradiation for 2 min
UV light irradiation for 5 min
Visble light irradiation for 10 min
300
400
500
λ
/ nm
Figure 1. UV-Vis spectrum of R-azo-Na solutions of 4 mmolꢀL-1 under UV/Vis light irradiation.
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Figure 2. 1H NMR spectra (in CD3OD) for (a) trans-R-azo-Na; (b) R-azo-Na at the
photostationary state after UV light irradiation. The seven protons of the azobenzene group are
assigned by the letters a-g.
It is known that one shortcoming of the conventional carboxylate surfactants with large
hydrophobic groups is their poor solubility in water47. R-azo-Na is a carboxylate surfactant
containing 26 carbon atoms with one head group. We initially assumed that the solubility of
R-azo-Na would be bad. To our surprise, R-azo-Na solubilized well in water at room temperature.
The solubility measured at 25 °C was 88 mmol⋅L-1 using a standard curve method (Supporting
Information Figure S13). The rather good water solubility of R-azo-Na may arise from its
nonplanar rigid structure, which is hard to stack in order. The tendency of precipitation is thus
depressed.
As a surfactant that contains an azobenzene group, R-azo-Na could change its configuration in
response to light irradiation of certain wavelength. The photoisomerization of R-azo-Na can be
monitored with UV-Vis spectroscopy. As shown in Figure 1, the maximum of the characteristic
adsorption band of trans-R-azo-Na appears at 352 nm. After UV light irradiation for 20 s, the peak
at 352 nm was depressed. When the sample was irradiated with the UV light for 2 min, the peak at
352 nm was greatly depressed and a peak at 440 nm arose, indicating the transformation of most
trans-R-azo-Na to its cis form. Further irradiation for 5 min caused almost no change. It can be
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concluded that for 4 mmolꢀL-1 solution of R-azo-Na, the photostationary state was achieved by
irradiating with UV light for 2 min. Furthermore, the original solution state rich in trans-R-azo-Na
molecules can mostly be restored by the sequential visible light irradiation for 10 min. To estimate
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the ratio of cis-R-azo-Na to trans-R-azo-Na at the photostationary state, H NMR measurements
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were carried out on the same sample dissolved in CD3OD before and after UV light irradiation. As
shown in Figure 2(a), the proton signals of the phenyl rings contained in trans-R-azo-Na are
present downfield. This is caused by the delocalization of the π electrons across the planar
trans-azobenzene group, enhancing the deshielding effect of the phenyl rings. When the
azobenzene group was transformed to its cis form under UV light irradiation, the conjugated
planar structure of the azobenzene was destroyed. The π electrons of cis-azobenzene merely
delocalize at their separate phenyl rings, leading to an upfield shift of the proton signals.
Comparing the 1H NMR spectra of R-azo-Na before and after UV light irradiation, it is clear that
most trans-R-azo-Na were transformed to cis-R-azo-Na. In Figure 2(b), it is also found that the
chemical shifts of one specific proton locate at different positions, which correspond to the
presence of cis-R-azo-Na and the remaining trans-R-azo-Na, respectively. According to the
integration, the cis isomer of R-azo-Na is estimated to be at 95.2% of the photostationary state.
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Before UV light irradiation
After UV light irradiation
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γ
γ
γ
γ
50
45
40
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
Log
(
C / mmol
⋅
L−1
)
Figure 3. Apparent surface tensions of aqueous R-azo-Na solutions (pH = 12) as a function of the
surfactant concentration at 25 °C(■,before UV light irradiation; □, after UV light irradiation).
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Table 1. The surface-active parameters of aqueous solutions of R-azo-Na at 25 °C. (a: du Noüy
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ring method; b: fluorescence probe method)
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8
-1
9
−1
-1
C /(mmol·L )
γ
/(mN⋅m )
cmc/(mmol·L )
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cmc
Before UV light irradiation
After UV light irradiation
0.27a, 0.28b
1.59a, 1.72b
0.14
1.19
44.3
44.8
The apparent equilibrium surface tensions of R-azo-Na before and after UV light irradiation are
shown in Figure 3. The cmc values were further confirmed by the fluorescence probe method with
Nile red (Supporting Information Figure S14). The surface-active parameters are listed in Table 1.
The critical micelle concentration of trans-R-azo-Na was 0.27 mmolꢀL-1. After the UV light
irradiation, most R-azo-Na was transformed to its cis form, and the critical micelle concentration
increased to 1.59 mmolꢀL-1. The UV light irradiation caused an approximately 6-fold change in the
cmc of R-azo-Na, revealing a significant aggregation discrepancy before and after UV light
irradiation. Hayashita et al. investigated a series of cationic azobenzene surfactants48 with different
alkyl chain lengths and spacers. The largest ratio of cmccis and cmctrans was found to be 4.1. This
comparison verifies the advantage of a rigid surfactant in the photoresponsive behavior. In an
azobenzene surfactant with a totally rigid skeleton, the relative positions of the atoms are fixed.
Even the furthest group from azobenzene can be affected by the isomerization. In contrast, the
flexible alkyl chains contained in an azobenzene surfactant may adjust their relative positions to
the azobenzene group by twist or bending according to the surroundings when isomerization
occurs. The photoresponsive efficiency is thus lowered. Of course, the rigidity of a surfactant is
not advantageous in every aspect. Due to the bulkiness of the rigid skeleton, R-azo-Na showed a
weak ability in lowering the surface tension. The γcmc (surface tension at the critical micelle
concentration) before and after UV light irradiation was 44.3 mN⋅m−1 and 44.8 mN⋅m−1,
respectively, which is significantly higher than those of conventional surfactants49.
Photoresponsive properties of foams generated by R-azo-Na
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Figure 4. Digital photographs of aqueous foams formed by different concentrations of
trans-R-azo-Na solutions and
4
mmolꢀL-1 SDS solution. Surfactant concentrations of
trans-R-azo-Na from a to d are 0.3, 1, 2, and 4 mmolꢀL-1, respectively.
To evaluate the photoresponsive efficiency of R-azo-Na, the foams generated by
trans-R-azo-Na was first investigated. The behavior of the commercially available surfactant SDS
was also investigated for comparison. As shown in Figure 4, after vigorous shaking by hand,
trans-R-azo-Na of several concentrations (above the cmc) all formed foams with small gas
bubbles trapped in aqueous solutions. The original volumes of the foams were 8, 12, 14, and 17
mL for 0.3, 1, 2, and 4 mmolꢀL-1, respectively, increasing with surfactant concentrations.
Comparatively, the formability of SDS was rather strong, as shown by a foam volume of 39 mL at
4 mmolꢀL-1 and 47 mL at 20 mmolꢀL-1 (Supporting Information Figure S15). This is attributed to
the rather low γcmc of SDS, which is in favor of the surfactant formability.
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1
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t / min
1000
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Figure 5. Volume variation of foams stabilized by trans-R-azo-Na at different concentrations over
time at 25 °C(□, 0.3 mmolꢀL-1; △, 1 mmolꢀL-1; ○, 2 mmolꢀL-1; ▽, 4 mmolꢀL-1).
The half-life t1/2, which indicates the time required for the collapse of the foam to half of its
initial height or volume50, was used to estimate the foam stability. As shown in Figure 5, the
half-life t1/2 was 636, 656, 976, and 872 min for 0.3, 1, 2, and 4 mmolꢀL-1 trans-R-azo-Na aqueous
solutions, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, trans-R-azo-Na forms the most stable foams
among the azobenzene-containing surfactants up to now. On the other hand, the half-life t1/2 of the
aqueous foams stabilized by SDS at 4 mmolꢀL-1 and 20 mmolꢀL-1 was 283 and 257 min,
respectively (Supporting Information Figure S15). These results indicate that, even compared with
that of the commercially available anionic surfactant, the foam stability of trans-R-azo-Na is
remarkable30. It is believed that the surface dilational elasticity is relevant with the foam stability.
The reason was first revealed by the comparative measurements of the surface dilational elasticity
of both surfactants, which was expected to reveal the difference in molecular interactions at the
interface. It is reported that the surface dilational elasticity of SDS is usually higher than the actual
value because of the presence of impurities51-52. However, even in this way, the surface dilational
elasticity of trans-R-azo-Na is always above that of SDS during the same frequency range at the
same concentration as shown in Figure S17. This indicates that the adsorption films formed by
trans-R-azo-Na is more elastic, which is critical for stabilization of foams. From Figure 4, it is
also obvious that the size of the bubbles stabilized by trans-R-azo-Na is smaller than that
stabilized by SDS. This phenomenon was further inspected with the microscope. As shown in
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Figure 6, the average size of the bubbles stabilized by trans-R-azo-Na is smaller than that
stabilized by SDS. The same phenomenon was even observed for the foams existing for 6 hours.
Because the trans-R-azo-Na molecules can form foams with smaller bubble size, the foams
produced thus have the stronger ability to resist the coarsening process53, which may serve as one
of the factors stabilizing foams.
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Figure 6. Micrographs of the bubbles formed by 2 mmolꢀL-1 trans-R-azo-Na (a and c)solutions
and 4 mmolꢀL-1 SDS solutions (b and d). (a) and (b) were taken immediately after shaking. (c) and
(d) were taken after 6 hours.
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
1
10
100
t / min
Figure 7. Variation of the water volume fraction in aqueous foams stabilized by trans-R-azo-Na
and SDS solutions at different concentrations with time at 25 °C (trans-R-azo-Na: 0.3
mmolꢀL-1(□), 1 mmolꢀL-1(○), 2 mmolꢀL-1 (△), 4 mmolꢀL-1 (▽); SDS: 4 mmolꢀL-1 (◇), 20
mmolꢀL-1 (☆))
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The drainage in foams is another factor affecting the foam stability. As shown in Figure 7, for
the investigated trans-R-azo-Na and SDS solutions of different concentrations, the volume
fraction of water in foams decreased quickly in the initial 2-3 minutes and then gradually leveled
off with time. The trans-R-azo-Na systems were able to hold a water volume fraction of around
0.025 after 200 minutes.
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The photoresponsive properties of the R-azo-Na foams were then investigated in a 2 mmolꢀL-1
solution. When the stable foams were irradiated with UV light, rapid rupture of the foams was
observed, showing in situ responses to light (shown in the movie S1 in the Supporting
Information). The amount of light transmitted inside foams depends on the water volume fraction
in the foams39, 54-55. Since the water fraction at the foam top is smaller than that at the foam bottom,
the collapse speed of foams gradually decreases. All the foams collapsed in 4 min (Supporting
Information Figure S18). A similar phenomenon was reported by Monteux et al23, in which the
photofoams were formed with an azobenzene surfactant containing alkyl tails. However, since
trans-R-azo-Na forms the most stable foams among the reported azobenzene surfactants up to
now, the highest photoresponsive efficiency of the R-azo-Na foams is guaranteed. It is reported
that foams responsive to heat can also respond to the stimuli of UV light because of the presence
of materials that can adsorb light energy to increase the temperature39. Different with theirs, the
photoresponsive behavior of foams investigated here is attributed to the trans-cis isomerization of
the azobenzene group contained in the R-azo-Na molecule because there is no such heat-adsorbing
materials in our systems. This reason was further identified by the fact that the foams formed by
SDS (without an azobenzene group) are not responsive to the same UV light (shown in the movie
S2 in the Supporting Information).
The work carried out by Monteux et al56 indicated that when a trans azobenzene surfactant was
transformed to the cis isomer, it desorbed quickly from the interface. This observation is suitable
to explain the in situ response of trans-R-azo-Na foams to UV light. Initially, trans-R-azo-Na
adsorbs at the air/water interface to stabilize the thin liquid films that separate the gas bubbles.
Under UV light irradiation, most of the trans-R-azo-Na at the interface are transformed to its cis
isomer. It is known that the cis isomer of R-azo-Na is more polar than the trans one. The resulted
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cis-R-azo-Na desorb from the interface at the short timescale, leading to unstable films. The rapid
collapse of the R-azo-Na foams was thus observed.
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The foam properties of the solutions at the photostationary state after UV light irradiation, or
can be called cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions were further investigated for understanding more details.
To perform this experiment, the trans-R-azo-Na solutions were first irradiated with the UV light
for at least 5 min to reach the photostationary state. It's worth noting that some trans-R-azo-Na
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molecules are still present in the solutions after UV light irradiation as revealed by the above H
NMR results. As shown in Figure S19, the cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions all generated foams after
hand shaking, with an initial foam volume being 7, 12, 21, and 31 mL, and a half-life t1/2 of 18,
108, 653, and 505 min for concentration of 0.3, 1, 2, and 4 mmolꢀL-1, respectively. Apparently it
seems that the foam properties of cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions are comparable with that of
trans-R-azo-Na. However, since the trans-R-azo-Na molecules have stronger ability to adsorb at
the interfaces, the foams of cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions are likely to be stabilized by the remaining
trans-isomers. To prove this, the foam of 2 mmolꢀL-1 cis-rich R-azo-Na solution was then
irradiated with the UV light. As expected, the rapid collapse of foams indicating an in situ
response was observed (shown in the movie S3 in the Supporting Information). Because the sole
cis-R-azo-Na is not responsive to the UV light irradiation, this observation verifies that it’s
actually the remaining trans-R-azo-Na molecules that stabilize the foams of cis-rich R-azo-Na
solutions. Combining the results of Monteux et al23, 56, it can be concluded that the interfacial
properties of an azobenzene surfactant system are always dominated by the trans-isomers of
azobenzene surfactants.
As revealed by the above results, the high photoresponsive efficiency of the R-azo-Na foams is
attributed to the high foam stability of trans-R-azo-Na. Understanding the mechanism that
stabilizes the foams in trans-R-azo-Na solutions is helpful to understand the responsive behaviors
of totally rigid surfactants. As we know, the stability of foams is related with the stability of the
thin liquid films where the surfactants adsorb. In a single-component surfactant foam system, the
surfactant structure directly affects the coarsening of bubble, the drainage of the liquid in the thin
films, the diffusion of gas through the thin films, the surface viscosity and the presence of an
electric double layer49. Thus, the surfactant structure is extremely important in foam stability.
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R-azo-Na has a rigid molecular skeleton, which may account for the stability of the foams. The
dynamic surface tensions of both trans-R-azo-Na solutions and cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions were
thus investigated to determine more details.
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The dynamic adsorption of surfactants from the bulk solution to a freshly formed surface is
usually classified by two processes. First, the surfactant diffuses from the bulk to the subsurface.
Then, a sequential adsorption from the subsurface to the surface occurs57. Compared with the
diffusion process, if the timescale of adsorption from the subsurface to the surface is very fast, the
adsorption kinetics are characterized as diffusion controlled. If the transfer of surfactants from the
subsurface to the surface is the rate-determining step, the process is characterized as mixed
diffusion-kinetic controlled, in which an energy barrier exists. Based on the Ward-Tordai
equation58, a renormalized equation that describes the diffusion process of surfactants with a
potential energy barrier, is described as follows59:
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Deff t
Deff
t
Γ(t) = 2c0
− 2
∫
cs (t - τ) dτ1/2
0
π
π
(1)
where
Γ
is the adsorption, c0 is the bulk concentration of the solution, Deff is the effective diffusion
is the dummy variable. In
coefficient, t is the time, cs is the subsurface concentration, and
τ
equation (1), the first term indicates that the solute transfers to the subsurface from the bulk
surface, and the second term represents the solute coming back to the bulk solution as the
subsurface concentration increases.
In the beginning of the adsorption, cs is very small, and there is no back diffusion. Thus,
equation (1) is simplified to the following:
Deff t
Γ
(t
)
=
2c0
π
(2)
Combining the Gibbs adsorption equation and considering the presence of NaOH49, the
dynamic surface tension of R-azo-Na can be expressed as equation (3).
cR -azo- Na
cR -azo- Na cNaOH
Deff t
γ(t)
= γ0 − 2(1 +
)RTc0
t →0
+
π
(3)
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80
(a)
(b)
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0.04 mM
0.1 mM
γ
γ
γ
γ
γ
γ
γ
γ
0.04 mM
0.1 mM
0.16 mM
0.16 mM
0
1
2
3
4
0
1
2
3
4
5
t1/2/s1/2
t1/2/s1/2
Figure 8. Variations of the dynamic surface tensions (DST) with t1/2 for several concentrations of
(a) trans-R-azo-Na solutions and (b) cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions at 25 °C (□, 0.04 mmolꢀL-1; ○,
0.1 mmolꢀL-1; △, 0.16 mmolꢀL-1).
Figure 8 shows the dynamic surface tensions of R-azo-Na solutions before and after UV light
irradiation as a function of t1/2 at 0.04, 0.1, and 0.16 mmolꢀL-1, respectively. By linear fitting the
initial adsorption process, the corresponding Deff values for trans-R-azo-Na were estimated to be
5.64×10-11, 4.47×10-11, and 5.17×10-11 m2⋅s-1. The corresponding Deff values for the molecules in
cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions were 4.57×10-11, 4.42×10-11, and 5.27×10-11 m2⋅s-1, respectively. This
indicates that, for the present system, the Deff is almost irrespective of the surfactant
concentrations below cmc, in considering the experimental error60. By a pulsed-field gradient
NMR method, the self-diffusion coefficient D value of trans-R-azo-Na at 0.1 mmolꢀL-1 (0.37 cmc)
and 25 °C was measured to be 5.10×10-10 m2⋅s-1, so was that of in cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions61.
The Deff /D was 0.0876 for trans-R-azo-Na system and 0.0867 for cis-rich R-azo-Na system,
verifying the existence of a significant adsorption barrier for the adsorption of R-azo-Na before
and after UV light irradiation60. Therefore, at the beginning of the adsorption process, the
adsorption kinetics belong to a mixed diffusion-kinetic-controlled mechanism.
The energy barrier Ea, which is related to the orientation of molecules and the reconstruction of
the surface62, can be expressed with Deff and D by an Arrhenius-type relationship, as shown in
equation (4).
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2Ea
Deff = Dexp(−
)
RT
(4)
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The Deff values of 0.1 mmolꢀL-1 trans-R-azo-Na solution and cis-rich R-azo-Na solution at
several temperatures were obtained by fitting their dynamic surface tension data (Supporting
Information Figure S22). The self-diffusion coefficient D values at the corresponding
temperatures were estimated according to the Stokes-Einstein equation63. According to the plot of
ln (Deff/D) vs 1/T (Figure S23), the Ea value becomes accessible. The results show that even with
the presence of extra ions60 the Ea value for the adsorption of trans-R-azo-Na at the surface is still
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as large as 23.1 kJ⋅mol-1, which is obviously larger than that of many traditional surfactants60-61, 64
.
By comparing their molecular structures, it is clear that the bulkiness of the rigid skeleton of
trans-R-azo-Na accounts for the high energy barrier of adsorption. This situation is similar to the
Pickering foams stabilized by nanoparticles. The adsorption of nanoparticles at interfaces is
almost irreversible because of the extremely high desorption energy barriers65. On the other hand,
the Ea value for the adsorption process in cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions is 11.0 kJ⋅mol-1. As
mentioned above, because the trans-R-azo-Na has a strong ability to adsorb at the interface, the
air/water interface in cis-rich R-azo-Na solutions at equilibrium is in fact mainly occupied by the
remaining trans-R-azo-Na molecules. However, at the beginning of the adsorption, part of the
cis-R-azo-Na molecules may also adsorb at the interface. This mixed adsorption of both isomers
resulted in a smaller Ea and indicated different adsorption behavior of trans and cis R-azo-Na
molecules.
Conclusions
Photoresponsive foams formed by a rigid azobenzene surfactant (R-azo-Na) derived from
dehydroabietic acid have been investigated. Under UV light irradiation, the stable foams formed
by trans-R-azo-Na quickly collapsed due to the trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene group,
showing an in situ response. The extremely high photoresponsive efficiency of the foams was
attributed to the totally rigid hydrophobic skeleton of R-azo-Na, which leads to unique adsorption
behavior among reported azobenzene surfactants. The results show the advantage of a totally rigid
surfactant in constructing highly effective photoresponsive systems. Because of the unusual
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molecular structure and dynamic behavior, a surfactant with a rigid skeleton is also expected to
bring out novel properties in other related systems. The present work reveals the importance of
molecular rigidity of surfactants and is also beneficial to widen the applications of rosin in new
fields of technology.
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1
Supporting Information. Synthesis and H NMR spectrums of compounds, determination of
water solubility, fluorescence measurements, foaming properties of trans-R-azo-Na and SDS,
dynamic surface tensions of R-azo-Na solutions before and after UV light irradiation.
Acknowledgements
Support from the open research fund of Jiangsu Province Biomass Energy and Materials
Laboratory (JSBEM201501) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21473080,
31300486) is gratefully acknowledged.
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