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.
González-Pérez
Alfredo
A
Group of Biophysics and Interfaces, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782, Spain.
Ruso
Juan M
JM
Prieto
Gerardo
G
Sarmiento
Félix
F