Thermodynamics micellization

Osborne-Lee, I. W., and R. S. Schechter. 1986. Nonideal mixed micelles. Thermodynamic models and experimental comparisonACS Symp. Se(Phenom. Mixed Surfactant Syst.). 311 30—43. 

Surf] plot and A refers to the equivalent conductivity of the surfactant counterion at infinite dilution. Models that are more sophisticated are also available for calculating (a i,) from conductivity data at various (T) and ionic strengths these are based on the mass action micellization thermodynamics and the Debye-Hiickel-Onsager conductivity theory [32]. 

The mass-action model should be verified before we discuss micelle thermodynamics. Recent progress in electrochemical techniques makes it possible to measure monomeric concentrations of surfactant ions and counterions, and determination of the micellization constant has become possible. The first equality of (4.24) has three parameters to be determined— K , n, and m, which are the most important factors for the mass-action model of micelle formation. For monodisperse micelles, the following equations result from (4.13) and (4.14), respectively ... 

With increasing water content the reversed micelles change via swollen micelles 62) into a lamellar crystalline phase, because only a limited number of water molecules may be entrapped in a reversed micelle at a distinct surfactant concentration. Tama-mushi and Watanabe 62) have studied the formation of reversed micelles and the transition into liquid crystalline structures under thermodynamic and kinetic aspects for AOT/isooctane/water at 25 °C. According to the phase-diagram, liquid crystalline phases occur above 50—60% H20. The temperature dependence of these phase transitions have been studied by Kunieda and Shinoda 63). 

The heats of dilution of sodium dodecyl sulfate in 0.0001 M NaCl and 0.145 M NaCl solutions have been determined in a study of the thermodynamics of the reaction with cetylpyridinium chloride. The heat of dilution includes the heat of dilution of the monomer, the heat of micellization, and the heat of dilution of the micelle [71]. 

The frequent breaking and reforming of the labile intermolecular interactions stabilizing the reversed micelles maintain in thermodynamic equilibrium a more or less wide spectrum of aggregates differing in size and/or shape whose relative populations are controlled by some internal (nature and shape of the polar group and of the apolar molecular moiety of the amphiphile, nature of the apolar solvent) and external parameters (concentration of the amphiphile, temperature, pressure) [11], The tendency of the surfactants to form reversed micelles is, obviously, more pronounced in less polar solvents. 

Generally, solubilization occurs spontaneously when the pure solubilizate contacts the solution of reversed micelles. Often, vigorous stirring consistently reduces the time necessary to obtain complete solubihzation and thermodynamically stable systems. 

In contrast, thermodynamic as well as spectroscopic properties of core water in AOT-reversed micelles are similar to those of pure water. Together with electrostatic considerations, this suggests that the penetration of counterions in the micellar core is negligible and that a relatively small number of water molecules are able to reconstruct the typical extended H-bonded structure of bulk water. 

Taking into account that the state of nanoparticles is thermodynamically unstable against an unlimited growth, the physicochemical processes allowing reversed micelles to lead to stable dispersions and to a size control of nanoparticles are ... 

The amphipathic character of phospholipids suggests that the two regions of the molecule have incompatible solubihties however, in a solvent such as water, phos-phohpids organize themselves into a form that thermodynamically serves the solubihty requirements of both regions. A micelle (Figure 41 ) is such a structure the hydrophobic regions are shielded from water, while the hydrophilic polar groups are immersed in the aqueous environment. However, micelles are usually relatively small in size (eg, approximately 200 nm) and thus are hmited in their potential to form membranes. 

With the development of new instrumental techniques, much new information on the size and shape of aqueous micelles has become available. The inceptive description of the micelle as a spherical agglomerate of 20-100 monomers, 12-30 in radius (JJ, with a liquid hydrocarbon interior, has been considerably refined in recent years by spectroscopic (e.g. nmr, fluorescence decay, quasielastic light-scattering), hydrodynamic (e.g. viscometry, centrifugation) and classical light-scattering and osmometry studies. From these investigations have developed plausible descriptions of the thermodynamic and kinetic states of micellar micro-environments, as well as an appreciation of the plurality of micelle size and shape. 

Micelles the mostly spherical nanoscale aggregates formed by amphiphilic compounds above their critical micelle concentration in aqueous solution have a narrow size distribution and are dynamic, because there is a fast exchange of amphiphiles in solution and those incorporated in micelles. However, micelles are defined as self-assembled structures, since the structure is in thermodynamical equilibrium. 

The rates of multiphase reactions are often controlled by mass tran.sfer across the interface. An enlargement of the interfacial surface area can then speed up reactions and also affect selectivity. Formation of micelles (these are aggregates of surfactants, typically 400-800 nm in size, which can solubilize large quantities of hydrophobic substance) can lead to an enormous increase of the interfacial area, even at low concentrations. A qualitatively similar effect can be reached if microemulsions or hydrotropes are created. Microemulsions are colloidal dispersions that consist of monodisperse droplets of water-in-oil or oil-in-water, which are thermodynamically stable. Typically, droplets are 10 to 100 pm in diameter. Hydrotropes are substances like toluene/xylene/cumene sulphonic acids or their Na/K salts, glycol.s, urea, etc. These. substances are highly soluble in water and enormously increase the solubility of sparingly. soluble solutes. 

Guillaume et al. [69] presented a high performance liquid chromatographic method for an association study of miconazole and other imidazole derivatives in surfactant micellar using a hydrophilic reagent, Montanox DF 80. The thermodynamic results obtained showed that imidazole association in the surfactant micelles was effective over a concentration of surfactant equal to 0.4 pM. In addition, an enthalpy-entropy compensation study revealed that the type of interaction between the solute and the RP-18 stationary phase was independent of the molecular structure. The thermodynamic variations observed were considered the result of equilibrium displacement between the solute and free ethanol (respectively free surfactant) and its clusters (respective to micelles) created in the mobile phase. 

The critical concentration at which the first micelle forms is called the critical micelle concentration, or CMC. As the concentration of block copolymer chains increases in the solution, more micelles are formed while the concentration of nonassociated chains, called unimers, remains constant and is equal to the value of the CMC. This ideal situation corresponds to a system at thermodynamic equilibrium. However, experimental investigations on the CMC have revealed that its value depends on the method used for its determination. Therefore, it seems more reasonable to define phenomenologically the CMC as the concentration at which a sufficient number of micelles is formed to be detected by a given method [16]. In practical terms, the CMC is often determined from plots of the surface tension as a function of the logarithm of the concentration. The CMC is then defined as the concentration at which the surface tension stops decreasing and reaches a plateau value. 

Exchange of unimers between two different types of block copolymer micelles has often been referred to as hybridization. This situation is more complex than for the case described above because thermodynamic parameters now come into play in addition to the kinetic ones. A typical example of such hybridization is related to the mixing of micelles formed by two different copolymers of the same chemical nature but with different composition and/or length for the constituent blocks. Tuzar et al. [41] studied the mixing of PS-PMAA micelles with different sizes in water-dioxane mixtures by sedimentation velocity measurements. These authors concluded that the different chains were mixing with time, the driving force being to reach the maximum entropy. 

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