Full-time kinetics of self-assembly and disassembly in micellar solution via the generalized Smoluchowski equation with fusion and fission of surfactant aggregates.
Full-time kinetics of self-assembly and disassembly of spherical micelles with their fusion and fission in non-ionic micellar solutions has been considered in detail on the basis of direct numerical solutions of the generalized Smoluchowski equations describing the evolution of the time-dependent concentrations of molecular aggregates for every aggregation number. The cases of instant increase of the monomer concentration up or dilution of a surfactant solution below the critical micelle concentration at large initial deviations from the final equilibrium state have been studied. Different stages in assembly or disassembly of micelles have been described and compared with the results of the stepwise mechanism of monomer attachment-detachment described by the Becker-Döring kinetic equations. A relation of the full-time kinetics to micellar relaxation at small deviations from the equilibrium state has been checked.
Department of Statistical Physics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
Alexander K
AK
Shchekin
Department of Statistical Physics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
Ilya A
IA
Babintsev
Department of Statistical Physics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
Loran Ts
LT
Adzhemyan