ABSTRACT
St. Petersburg State University, Chemical Faculty, Universitetsky pr. 26,
198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
Contents A. Introduction 104 B. Theory of capillary waves 107 1. Solution of hydrodynamic equations 107 2. Boundary conditions 109 3. Dispersion equation 112 4. Scattering of capillary waves 115 C. Experimental studies 120 1. Insoluble monolayers 121 2. Solutions of soluble surfactants 123 2.1. Non-micellar solutions 123 2.2. Micellar solutions 126 2.3. Solutions of polymeric surfactants 128 D. Conclusion 129 E. References 130
A. INTRODUCTION
The idea to apply capillary waves to studying surface rheological properties seems to be simple and natural. In the case of bulk liquids the determination of the dynamic compressibility and viscosity of compression (expansion) is mainly based on the application of another kind of mechanical waves – ultrasound waves [1-3]. The corresponding experimental methods are well-established in the physical chemistry [2, 3]. One can assume that surface waves, first of all capillary waves, have to play an analogous role in surface science of liquid systems. The influence of surfactants on the surface wave properties is indeed a wellknown phenomenon, which reveals the possibility to extract information on the surface rheological properties from the characteristics of surface waves.
