Effect of Different Concentrations of Detergent on Surface Tension of Water
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62054/ijdm/0302.24Abstract
This research work investigated the effect of different concentrations of detergent on the surface tension of water using the capillary rise method. In the experiment, a clean capillary tube was mounted vertically in a beaker containing detergent solution of varying concentrations (0 g - 70 g). The height of the liquid column rising inside the tube was carefully measured, and the surface tension values were calculated. At zero (0) concentration, all the detergent samples exhibited similar surface tension values. However, as the concentration of detergent increased, significant variations were observed among the samples. Samples C and E (0.0015, 0.0021, 0.0015, 0.0015, 0.0013, 0.0011, 0.0007, 0.0007 and 0.0015, 0.0021, 0.0012, 0.0010, 0.0009, 0.0007, 0.0006, 0.0006 N/m) consistently recorded the lowest surface tension values across different concentrations, making them the most effective detergents for reducing surface tension. On the other hand, Samples A and B (0.00150, 0.00338, 0.00330, 0.00312, 0.00153, 0.00204, 0.00100, 0.00065, and 0.0015, 0.0032, 0.0018, 0.0013, 0.0013, 0.0012, 0.0012, 0.0010 N/m) generally exh1ibited the highest surface tension values among the detergent tested. The findings clearly demonstrate that detergent concentration plays a major role in reducing surface tension, although the effectiveness is highly dependent on the chemical composition of the detergent. These results support the understanding that detergents act as surfa1ctants by disrupting hydrogen bonding in water, thereby weakening intermolecular forces. The practical implication of this study is that certain detergents (such as Samples C and E) are better suited for applications where lowering surface tension is essential, such as in cleaning, wetting, and industrial processes.
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