Impact of Degree of Ethoxylation on Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate Surfactant Adsorption onto Silicone-in-Water Emulsion Droplets

Silicone-in-water emulsions have found widespread use as lubricants, water repellants, softeners, binders, antiblocking agents, antislip agents, and defoamers across a diverse range of markets including textiles, coatings, pharmaceuticals, and home and personal care. Stable incorporation of silicone emulsions into formulated products for these applications can be a challenge. This study seeks to enable formulation by investigating the impact of the degree of ethoxylation of sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) surfactants on their ability to displace surfactant stabilizer at the silicone-water interfaces of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-in-water emulsion droplets. Building this understanding will greatly enable the manufacture of home and personal care products prepared by introducing silicone emulsions into SLES-rich formulations. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements reveal that SLES can displace the triethanolamine dodecylbenzenesulfonate stabilizer at the droplet surfaces. Both capillary electrophoresis (CE) measurements and molecular dynamics simulations of the interfacial tension (IFT) between silicone and water measurements suggest that SLES mixtures with a higher average degree of ethoxylation are more surface active at the silicone-water interface. The molecular dynamics simulations predict a systematic decrease in PDMS-water IFT with increase in degree of ethoxylation (simulations predict a decrease of 1.3 mN/m per mole of ethylene oxide). Optical microscopy reveals that the presence of SLES at the droplet surfaces promotes the formation of loose flocs of droplets that break up upon dilution. Overall, these fundamental insights will aid in formulating silicone emulsions into products to achieve optimal performance.