Adsorption behavior of lauric acid at heptane/water interface as studied by second harmonic generation spectroscopy and interfacial tensiometry.

Interfacial tensiometry and second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy were applied to examine the adsorption behavior of lauric acid (LA) at a heptane/water interface. From interfacial tensiometry measurements, the adsorption kinetics of LA was revealed to be diffusion-controlled, and the adsorption constant of LA was estimated to be 9.6 x 10(4) M(-1). The adsorption isotherms obtained by SHG measurements were analyzed by taking account of both the molecular orientation of LA at the interface and a surface electric field generated by the adsorbed LA layer. It was confirmed that the carboxylic groups of adsorbed LA molecules were well ordered at the heptane/water interface and the orientation of the carboxylate group was invariant during the adsorption process.