The Effects of Nonelectrolyte Solutes

Unlike polar solutes with relatively large hydrophobic tads, short-chain alcohols such as ethanol can significantly reduce the solubilizing power of a surfactant. In the discussion of the effects of such materials on the micellization process from Chapter 4, it was shown that the addition of significant quantities of short-chain alcohols, acetone, dioxane, and related compounds could result in profound changes in the cmc and aggregation number of surfactants, even to the point of completely inhibiting micelle formation. It is understandable, then, that such solutes could also adversely affect the solubilization capacity of a surfactant solution. 

From the observations above, it seems clear that the effects of an added nonelectrolyte on the solubihzing capacity of a given surfactant system may be quite 

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