Adsorption properties of succinimide dispersants on carbonaceous substrates Original Research Article

The role played by surfactant molecular architecture in determining its effectiveness as a dispersant for carbonaceous solid substrates in hydrocarbon solvents is investigated using simple analytic theory and adsorption experiments carried out with model and commercial succinimides on activated carbon. We show by both of these approaches that the length and backbone structure of the hydrophobic tail are significant factors in determining the efficiency of the adsorption process and therefore probably the dispersancy mechanism itself. All of the succinimides are shown to be ‘high affinity’ adsorbates.