Solubility-micellization behavior

Figure 2 compares the variation of a with solvent composition for related surfactants as obtained from emf (12) and conductivity data. The emf results (at 308.15 K) have made use of the Botre Equation (39), the validity of which has been questioned (40,41). However, the main characteristics of these results are that they qualitatively present the same micelle behavior, i.e. an increase of a with the addition of acetone or propanol to water. The increase is much faster with propanol using the emf method than with the conductivity method and as Miyagishi apparently could not determine an a value above mole fraction 0.02 we suspect some electrode problems in this particular case. In the water -f-acetone mixtures the two methods yield similar results. Nevertheless, we believe that the conductivity method is more reliable than the emf method. Finally, Mathews et al. (13) found no change of a with addition of organic molecules in apparent contradistinction with the present results. However, these authors used scarcely soluble additives (e.g., CCL ) and Figure 2 shows that a changes slowly with the addition of acetone or propanol. 

A wide range of more sophisticated structures, such as linear or star-shaped A-B or A-B-C, H-shaped, brush structures, etc., comprising water-soluble blocks have been prepared. The systematic study of their micellization behavior has recently just been started. 

Figure 20 shows the plot of the surface tension vs. the logarithm of the concentration (or-lg c-isotherms) of sodium alkanesulfonates C,0-C15 at 45°C. In accordance with the general behavior of surfactants, the interfacial activity increases with growing chain length. The critical micelle concentration (cM) is shifted to lower concentration values. The typical surface tension at cM is between 38 and 33 mN/m. The ammonium alkanesulfonates show similar behavior, though their solubility is much better. The impact of the counterions is twofold First, a more polarizable counterion lowers the cM value (Fig. 21), while the aggregation number of the micelles rises. Second, polarizable and hydrophobic counterions, such as n-propyl- or isopropylammonium and n-butylammonium ions, enhance the interfacial activity as well (Fig. 22). Hydrophilic counterions such as 2-hydroxyethylammonium have the opposite effect. Table 14 summarizes some data for the dodecane 1-sulfonates.

Because of their preferential use as detergents, the main interest in the physicochemical properties of the salts of a-sulfo fatty acid esters is related to their behavior in aqueous solution and at interfaces. In principle these are surface-active properties of general interest like micelle formation, solubility, and adsorption, and those of interest for special applications like detergency, foaming, and stability in hard water. 

In another study of the physical behavior of soap-LSDA blends, Weil and Linfield [35] showed that the mechanism of action of such mixtures is based on a close association between the two components. In deionized water this association is mixed micellar. Surface tension curves confirm the presence of mixed micelles in deionized water and show a combination of optimum surface active properties, such as low CMC, high surface concentration, and low surface concentration above the CMC. Solubilization of high Krafft point soap by an LSDA and of a difficulty soluble LSDA by soap are related results of this association. Analysis of dispersions of soap-LSDA mixtures in hard water shows that the dispersed particles are mixtures of soap and LSDA in the same proportion as they were originally added. These findings are inconsistent with the view that soap reacts separately with hard water ions and that the resulting lime soap is suspended by surface adsorption of LSDA. The suspended particles are responsible for surface-active properties and detergency and do not permit deposits on washed fabric unlike those found after washing with soap alone. 

The impact of salt concentration on the formation of micelles has been reported and is in apparent accord with the interfacial tension model discussed in Sect. 4.1, where the CMC is lowered by the addition of simple electrolytes [ 19,65, 280,282]. The existence of a micellar phase in solution is important not only insofar as it describes the behavior of amphipathic organic chemicals in solution, but the existence of a nonpolar pseudophase can enhance the solubility of other hydrophobic chemicals in solution as they partition into the hydrophobic interior of the micelle. A general expression for the solubility enhancement of a solute by surfactants has been given by Kile and Chiou [253] in terms of the concentrations of monomers and micelles and the corresponding solute partition coefficients, giving... 

It has also been shown [254] that a commercial petroleum sulfonate surfactant which consists of a diverse admixture of monomers does not exhibit behavior typically associated with micelle formation (i.e., a sharp inflection of solvent properties as the concentration of surfactant reaches CMC). These surfactants exhibit gradual change in solvent behavior with added surfactant. This gradual solubility enhancement indicates that micelle formation is a gradual process instead of a single event (i. e., CMC does not exist as a unique point, rather it is a continuous function of molecular properties). This type of surfactant can represent humic material in water, and may indicate that DHS form molecular aggregates in solution, which comprise an important third phase in the aqueous environment. This phase can affect an increase in the apparent solubility of very hydrophobic chemicals. 

It appears from a survey of the literature that the essential properties of micelles in nonpolar solvents are understood, namely their stability and variations of size, the dissociation behavior, and their solubilizing capacities. Reverse micelles can dissolve relatively large amounts of water (1-10% w/v depending on emulsion formula) as well as polar solutes and, of course, water-soluble compounds. Consequently, they can be used as media for a number of reactions, including enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Very few attempts to investigate such reverse micelles at subzero temperatures are known, in spite of the fact that hydrocarbon solutions present very low freezing points. 

The aggregation behavior of C21-DA salt in dilute electrolyte medium appears to resemble that of certain polyhydroxy bile salts (25,16). That C21-DA, with a structure quite different from bile acids, should possess solution properties similar to, e.g., cholic acid is not entirely surprising in light of recent conductivity and surface tension measurements on purified (i.e., essentially monocarboxylate free) disodium salt aqueous solutions, and of film balance studies on acidic substrates (IX) The data in Figure 3 suggest that C21-DA salt micelles Incorporate detergents - up to an approximate weight fraction of 0.5 -much like cholate Incorporates lecithin or soluble... 

Soap works because the nonpolar end dissolves in dirt (oil), leaving the polar end outside the dirt. This combination is known as a micelle (see Figure 16-30). To the surrounding water molecules, the micelle appears as a very large ion. These ions tire water-soluble and repel each other due to their like charges, a behavior that causes them to remain separated. Metal ions in hcird water (Ca VMg VFe ) cause a precipitate to form because they react with carboxylate ions to form an insoluble material (also known as the soap scum hanging around the bathtub or shower). 

The particle number remains the same in interval III as in interval II, but the monomer concentration decreases with time, since monomer droplets are no longer present. The decrease in 4>m is slower with the more water-soluble monomers as the monomer in solution acts as a reservoir. The presence of a gel effect continues in interval IE. The quantitative interplay of a decreasing monomer concentration with the gel effect determines the exact behavior observed in this interval (GF or H). Polymerization continues at a steadily decreasing rate as the monomer concentration in the polymer particles decreases. Final conversions of essentially 100% are usually achieved. The final polymer particles, spherical in shape, usually have diameters of 50-300 nm, which places them intermediate in size between the initial micelles and monomer droplets. 

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