The book series Progress in Colloid and Interface Science was launched in 2009 by Libero Liggieri and Reinhard Miller. So far, seven volumes have been published with CRC Press. In 2024, L. Liggieri retired as editor and was succeeded by Eduardo Guzman. Since then, two additional volumes have been published. Volume 8 is entitled Emulsions: From Single Interfaces to Applications and was published around the same time as this volume (volume 9), which deals with ionic liquid-based surfactants (ILBSs). Volume 9 provides a thorough exploration of the fundamental principles governing the interfacial behavior of ILBSs and offers detailed discussions on their various types of applications across many technological fields. However, it does not discuss the synthesis or analytics of these particular chemical substances. Regardless, the book will surely serve as an essential reference for researchers and practitioners, as these special surfactants are becoming increasingly relevant due to their use as stabilizers for dispersions, foams, and emulsions in several rapidly developing industrial fields.
The book consists of three main sections: the structure of ILBSs, interfacial phenomena, and applications. Section I presents the fundamental concepts of ionic liquids and the structure of their surfactant derivatives. Chapter 1 summarizes the relationships between the structure and properties of ILBSs and shows how new substances can be designed via a tailored selection of cations and anions. It also categorizes ILBSs into different types, highlighting their unique properties and suitability for specific applications. Chapter 2 then presents the properties, advantages, and limitations of selected ILBSs in practice.
Section II describes the interfacial behavior of ILBSs adsorbed at water/air and water/oil interfaces. This includes the dynamic and equilibrium interfacial tension of ILBS adsorption layers discussed in Chapter 3, while in Chapter 4, the process of micelle formation in aqueous solutions is analyzed. These two chapters highlight that the structure of the surfactant molecules has a strong impact on the shape and location of the respective adsorption isotherms, for which several adsorption models are also discussed. Additionally, the molecular structure of ILBSs significantly affects their interfacial activity, CMC, and the size and morphology of the resulting micelles. Chapter 5 deals with the formation and stabilization of emulsions using ILBSs as emulsifiers. Environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, and the presence of organic additives are also discussed, demonstrating their impact on emulsion stability. It is demonstrated that particular additives can lead to enhanced emulsion stability. The final chapter of this second section, Chapter 6, is dedicated to the adsorption of ILBSs at solid surfaces and shows how the wettability of solid particles is modified. This ability presents the possibility of a number of new applications, ranging from medical coatings to enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
The three chapters of Section III deal with key industrial applications for these particular types of surface-active substances. In Chapter 7, the role of ILBSs in stabilizing particle dispersions is shown. It demonstrates how they outperform conventional surfactants in quite a number of dispersed systems. The application of ILBSs in the extraction processes is the subject of Chapter 8. The remarkable efficiency and excellent selectivity of these special surfactants in various extraction methods, as well as the fact that they are environmentally friendly, are emphasized. The final chapter of the book, Chapter 9, deals with the very important topic of EOR. The main advantage of using eco-friendly ILBSs here is their great performance even under harsh reservoir conditions (high temperatures and salinity), at which conventional surfactants would definitely fail. This makes them highly effective for industrial applications, including EOR in challenging reservoirs.
The authors of this book are well-regarded experts in the field of interfacial phenomena, in particular of ILBSs. Mona Kharazi is an assistant professor at Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. She has already published much about the characterization of ionic liquid-based surfactants and, in particular, about the application of ILBSs in crude oil recovery systems. Javad Saien is a full professor at Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. His research is primarily focused on enhanced oil recovery using ILBS and nanoparticles. Aliyar Javadi is the scientific director of the World-Academies, founded at the TU Dresden and dedicated to remote training and research. His main scientific activities are focused on dynamic phenomena at interfaces and in colloidal systems, and simulations of multiphase flows and heat and mass transfers. Reinhard Miller is an associated senior scientist at the Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the TU Darmstadt, a position he took up after his retirement from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam. His main scientific activities are focused on the dynamics and thermodynamics of surfactants and proteins adsorbed at fluid interfaces. This group of co-authors makes a perfect team for writing a book on the fundamentals and applications of ionic liquid-based surfactants and their adsorption at different interfaces.
This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers in academia and industries dealing with problems related to fluid interfaces and colloidal systems like dispersions, foams, and emulsions. The book contains textbook information for beginners as well as specific details and the most recent findings, attracting the interest of experts working in this field. This book can even be recommended as an introduction to the basics of surfactants at various interfaces for those who want to start working in surface science.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declare no conflict of interest.
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