Determination of Surface Dilational Viscosity Using the Oscillating Bubble Method.

A new version of the oscillating bubble method enables us to determine the dilational modulus of fluid surfaces in the frequency range 1 Hz</=f</=500 Hz. The frequency behavior of this complex modulus exhibits the influence of various physical effects which requires explanation in the framework of an appropriate theoretical model. For the evaluation of our measurements a theoretical modulus is used which includes compositional and intrinsic viscous effects. The compositional effects are described by the established model of dynamic surface tension. However, a modified interpretation is required to explain the values of the involved parameters which deviate strongly from the values calculated using equilibrium data. In addition, several experiments demonstrate the influence of an intrinsic surface dilational viscosity. This can be interpreted as the effect of molecular exchange at the surface in a nonequilibrium state. For the investigation of such processes we have compared the surface dilational moduli of solutions of alkyldimethylphosphine oxides with various chain lengths. The theoretical model was tested using these experimental results. It was possible to determine the parameters of the model. The parameters characterize the elastic and viscous properties of the surface as well as molecular exchange processes between surface and bulk. Their values mark scales for the influence of compositional effects, intrinsic effects, and molecular kinetics on the dilational properties of the surface. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.