Experiment 4.1 Determination of micelle ionization

Lever Faberge Europe - Global Technology Centre 

Describe how the critical packing parameter for surfactant self-assembly can be used to describe the structure of typical biological lipid membranes. 

Explain the link between the critical packing parameter and the interaction forces between surfactant molecules in water. 

Use the cmc values of a homologous series of single-chained sodium sulphate surfactants, given below, to estimate the standard free energy of transfer of a methylene (-CH2-) group from an aqueous to a hydrocarbon environment. 

In this experiment the degree of ionization of CTAB micelles is determined by measuring the change in slope of solution electrical conductivity (k) versus total concentration (C) as the solution goes through the critical micelle concentration (cmc). That this information is suffi- 

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