Micellar behavior of tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride in water–alcohol mixtures

Thermodynamic characterization of a non-commercial emulsifying agent for asphalt emulsion

The objective of the present work was to characterize a non-commercial emulsifying agent: dodecylpyridinium thiocyanate (C12PCNS). This study was carried out by conductimetry technique in the temperature range 25-50 °C. Assuming the system conforms to the pseudo-phase separation model, change of standard Gibbs free energy, ΔG_m⁰, enthalpy, ΔH_m⁰, and entropy of micellization, ΔS_m⁰, were estimated. Values for critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the ionization degree, β, were determined directly from the experimental data. The results show that the influence of the counter ion is very relevant, because the cmc for this compound is appreciably greater than the cmc of other pyridinium homologs of the same chain length. Finally, the compensation rule for this system has been found and the compensation temperature and the intercept ΔH^*-it is an indication of the stability of the micelle-were estimated.

Properties of Seawater Surfactants Associated with Primary Marine Aerosol Particles Produced by Bursting Bubbles at a Model Air-Sea Interface

Surfactants account for minor fractions of total organic carbon in the ocean but can significantly influence the production of primary marine aerosol particles (PMA) at the sea surface via modulation of bubble surface tension. During September and October 2016, model PMA (mPMA) were produced from seawater by bursting bubbles at two biologically productive and two oligotrophic stations in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Total concentrations of surfactants extracted from mPMA and seawater were quantified and characterized via measurements of surface tension isotherms and critical micelle concentrations (CMCs). Surfactant CMCs in biologically productive seawater were lower than those in the oligotrophic seawater suggesting that surfactant mixtures in the two regions were chemically distinct. mPMA surfactants were enriched in all regions relative to those in the associated seawater. Surface tension isotherms indicate that mPMA surfactants were weaker than corresponding seawater surfactants. mPMA from biologically productive seawater contained higher concentrations of surfactants than those produced from oligotrophic seawater, supporting the hypothesis that seawater surfactant properties modulate mPMA surfactant concentrations. Diel variability in concentrations of seawater and mPMA surfactants in some regions is consistent with biological and/or photochemical processing. This work demonstrates direct links between surfactants in mPMA and those in the associated seawater.

Microstructural study of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide / 1-butanol / salt / water system — SANS and 2D-NOESY analysis

Interaction of 1-butanol (BuOH) with a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aggregate, in water and salt solution has been studied by viscometry, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and 2D-NMR techniques. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of a possible micellar growth occurring in the presence of added alcohol and salt. It was observed that the addition of BuOH strongly influences the viscosity of the CTAB/salt micellar system, reaching a peak viscosity at about 0.5% w/v of BuOH over a range of salt concentrations. Scattering measurements support the idea of a structural transformation by the observation of a spectral shift (broadening) as the total concentration of surfactant varies, indicating a decrease in the intermicellar distance and narrow size distribution. The chemical shift from 1H NMR measurements gave complementary data on the solubilization of BuOH in CTAB micelles, whereas the expected locus (site) of the additive added to the surfactant including the dynamics of the molecules in micellar aggregates were successfully correlated by significant and positive cross peaks obtained from two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (2D-NOESY).

Competitive solubilization of phenol by cationic surfactant micelles in the range of low additive and surfactant concentrations

Competitive interactions of phenol (PhOH) with micellar aggregates of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) against 1-butanol (BuOH) in aqueous solutions at surfactant concentrations close to the critical micelle concentration (CMC), BuOH concentration of 0.5 mmol kg(-1), and phenol contents of 1, 5, or 10 mmol kg(-1) have been investigated at 303 K by means of (1)H NMR spectroscopy, titration calorimetry, and solution conductimetry. The solubilization loci for phenol were deduced from the composition-dependence of the (1)H chemical shifts assigned to various protons in the surfactant and additive units. Since in pure HTAB solutions phenol is already in competition with Br(-), addition of 1 mmol kg(-1) NaBr to the system weakens the phenol competitiveness. The presence of butanol in the HTAB micelles causes phenol to penetrate deeper toward the hydrophobic micelle core. For higher phenol contents, the butanol molecules are constrained to remain in the bulk solution and are progressively replaced within the HTAB micelles by the aromatic units. The competitive character of phenol solubilization against butanol is well supported by changes in the thermodynamic parameters of HTAB micellization in the presence of both of the additives.

Structural micellar transition for fluorinated and hydrogenated sodium carboxylates induced by solubilization of benzyl alcohol

The solubility of benzyl alcohol in micellar solutions of sodium octanoate and sodium perfluorooctanoate was studied. From the isotherms of specific conductivity versus molality at different alcohol concentrations, the critical micelle concentration and the degree of ionization of the micelles were determined. The cmc linearly decreases upon increasing the amount of benzyl alcohol present in aqueous solutions with two distinct slopes. This phenomenon was interpreted as a clustering of alcohol molecules above a critical point, around 0.1 mol kg(-1). Attending to the equivalent conductivity versus square root of molality, the presence of a second micellar structure for the fluorinated compound was assumed. The thermodynamic parameters associated with the process of micellization were estimated by applying Motomura's model for binary surfactant mixtures, modified by Pérez-Villar et al. (Colloid Polym. Sci 1990, 268, 965) for the case of alcohol-surfactant solutions. A comparison of the hydrogenated and fluorinated compounds was carried out and discussed.