Modeling the Transport and Equilibrium of Surfactants at the Cylindrical Fluid-fluid Interface

Researchers have spent much time understanding surfactant behavior when it applies to spherical geometries. Compared to planar and spherical geometries, cylindrical geometry is less understood despite being so prevalent in daily life and industry, from human hair conditioning to high-tech carbon nanofiber coating. People found it difficult to process many fibers because they are easy to entangle together due to their morphology and surface structures. Surfactants have gained much attention in fiber treatment studies for their superior surface modification properties.

My research focuses on understanding the surfactant transport and equilibrium at the cylindrical interface using modeling and spectroscopy methods. A key aim of my research is to aid the search for the appropriate surfactant formulation choice for different fiber surface treatments.