SURFACE-PROPERTIES OF DILUTED AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS OF NORMAL SHORT-CHAINED ALCOHOLS

The surface tension a of aqueous solutions of normal alcohols (from me thanol to n-butanol) was measured in the temperature range between 278 and 303 K using the Wilhelmy plate method. The surface entropies are calculated. The results are interpreted in terms of specific interacti ons of the hydrophobic parts of the molecules adsorbed at the interfac e. It is concluded that increasing surface concentration of alcohol mo lecules causes their rearrangement at the surface, similar to phase tr ansition. This process depends on the symmetry of molecules. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.