[Da9L]

Hello. Im sorry if this is placed in the wrong place of the forum. Im very new and unexperienced with chemestry, but heres my question

What is the best and simplest solution to reduce surface tension in a mixture? Normally you would use soap for this, but im in search of something that has the same effect as soap but does not include all the other things that is in soap that i do not need. This is for a liquid solution im making for a Lava Lamp where it is important that there is no uneeded ingredients in the liquid otherwise the liquid it self can come out cloudy or become it over time.

I've been using something called Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate for this and it has been working as intended, but it seems like the effect of it is wearing off over time, so im searching for something else

[Hunter2]

Polyethylenglycol-Nonylether, Polyethylenglycol 10000, Sodium stearate,

[Da9L]

Thanks for your answer! I just ordered some Sodium Stearate since that was the only thing i could find on ebay, so ill see how it goes with that..

Do you think that the effect of of surface tension reduction by Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate is reduced over time?

[Hunter2]

No, i dont think so.

[Intanjir]

What temperature is your lava lamp? Perhaps the SLES isn't stable in solution at your temperature?

[Da9L]

The temperature of the liquid is somewhere between 50 and 70 degrees Celsius when the lamp is running (will measure more precisely later).. I've attached a picture of my SLES container..notice how the liquid has turned dark? It has been almost clear when I first got it and been standing in room temperature the whole time

.

[Da9L]

So i got this Sodium Stearate in powder form and it does not seem to mix with water.. Am i missing something ?

[Intanjir]

So i got this Sodium Stearate in powder form and it does not seem to mix with water.. Am i missing something ?

This patent is relevent:
http://www.google.com/patents/US5208074

It just isn't very soluble at room temperature. I don't know how much you would need but the patent states that it will gel at even just 0.7% concentration if cooled to room temperature. Basically stearic acid is a bit too long for high water solubility. On the other hand it is long enough that what does stay dissolved will definitely have an affinity for the interface between the wax and the water.

It will probably still work. I'd recommend just dissolving small amounts in water you've just boiled and seeing what proportion you can get away with whilst having it stay dissolved over time at room temperature.

[Da9L]

So i got this Sodium Stearate in powder form and it does not seem to mix with water.. Am i missing something ?

This patent is relevent:
http://www.google.com/patents/US5208074

It just isn't very soluble at room temperature. I don't know how much you would need but the patent states that it will gel at even just 0.7% concentration if cooled to room temperature. Basically stearic acid is a bit too long for high water solubility. On the other hand it is long enough that what does stay dissolved will definitely have an affinity for the interface between the wax and the water.

It will probably still work. I'd recommend just dissolving small amounts in water you've just boiled and seeing what proportion you can get away with whilst having it stay dissolved over time at room temperature.

Thanks i will try out with boiled water! :-)