Influence of surfactants with different ionic character on the structure of poly(acrylic acid) adsorption layer on the activated biocarbons surface – electrokinetic and stability studies

Abstract Two samples of activated biocarbons obtained from corncobs and peanut shells precursors were applied for poly(acrylic acid) – PAA macromolecules adsorption from the aqueous solutions containing surfactants with different ionic character (non-ionic Triton X-100, cationic CTAB and anionic SDS). The effects of biocarbon structure, solution pH and surfactant type were examined. The structure of PAA adsorption layer without and with surfactant molecules on the activated carbons surface was described based on the adsorption, electrokinetic and stability results obtained from the spectrophotometric experiments, potentiometric titrations, electrophoretic mobility measurements and stability tests. It was shown that the presence of surfactant influences significantly the adsorption affinity of PAA macromolecules for the micro/mesoporous biocarbons and causes changes in both solid suspensions stability.