title: Physicochemical properties of quaternary ammonium bromide-type trimeric surfactants.
abstract: Trimeric surfactants of quaternary ammonium bromide (m-2-m-2-m, where m is the hydrocarbon chain length of 8, 10, or 12) with three hydrocarbon chains and three hydrophilic groups connected by two ethylene spacer chains were synthesized by the reaction of N,N,N',N",N"-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine and the corresponding alkyl bromide. Their physicochemical properties were characterized by surface tension, static and dynamic light-scattering, and fluorescence spectrum of pyrene techniques. The critical micelle concentrations (cmc's) of m-2-m-2-m shifted to lower concentrations with increasing hydrocarbon chain length, and their values were smaller by about one to three orders of magnitude than those of the corresponding dimeric (m-2-m) and monomeric surfactants (C(m)TAB) with the same hydrocarbon chain length. Of these surfactants, 10-2-10-2-10 showed the greatest efficiency in lowering the surface tension and provided the smallest occupied area per molecule, indicating that it adsorbs more compactly at the air/water interface. In addition, from the static and dynamic light-scattering measurements, the aggregation numbers of the trimeric surfactants at the cmc were very small, and two hydrodynamic diameters above the cmc were observed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Colloid and Interface Science, Tokyo University of Science, Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan. yoshimura@ch.kagu.tus.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Esumi