Influence of ZnO Powders on the Stability of the Foams Stabilized by Surfactants

Abstract

Foam is a thermodynamically unstable system, and the stability is the most important factor for the preparation and application of foams. In this paper, the effect of ZnO powders on the stability of the foams stabilized by sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate (SDBS), hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and Polyethylene glycol tertoctyl phenyl ether (TritonX-100) was investigated. The results showed that ZnO powders have a synergistic effect with SDBS and CTAB. There is no synergy between ZnO powders and Triton X-100. The mechanism for the stabilizing effect of ZnO powders on the foams was discussed.