Molecular-thermodynamic theory of micellization of multicomponent surfactant mixtures: 1. Conventional (pH-Insensitive) surfactants

A molecular-thermodynamic (MT) theory was developed to model the micellization of mixtures containing an arbitrary number of conventional (pH-insensitive) surfactants. The theory was validated by comparing predicted and experimental cmc's of ternary surfactant mixtures, yielding results that were comparable to, and sometimes better than, the cmc's determined using regular solution theory. The theory was also used to model a commercial nonionic surfactant (Genapol UD-079), which was modeled as a mixture of 16 surfactant components. The predicted cmc agreed well with the experimental cmc, and the monomer concentration was predicted to increase significantly above the cmc. In addition, the monomer and the micelle compositions were predicted to vary significantly with surfactant concentration. These composition variations were rationalized in terms of competing steric and entropic effects and a micelle shape transition near the cmc. To understand the packing constraints imposed on ternary surfactant mixtures better, the maximum micelle radius was also examined theoretically. The MT theory presented here represents the first molecular-based theory of the micellization behavior of mixtures of three or more conventional surfactants. In article 2 of this series, the MT theory will be extended to model the micellization of mixtures of conventional and pH-sensitive surfactants.     

Prediction of conformational characteristics and micellar solution properties of fluorocarbon surfactants

A molecular-thermodynamic theory is developed to model the micellization of fluorocarbon surfactants in aqueous solutions, by combining a molecular model that evaluates the free energy of micellization of fluorocarbon surfactant micelles with a previously developed thermodynamic framework describing the free energy of the micellar solution. In the molecular model of micellization developed, a single-chain mean-field theory is combined with an appropriate rotational isomeric state model of fluorocarbon chains to describe the packing of the fluorocarbon surfactant tails inside the micelle core. Utilizing this single-chain mean-field theory, the packing free energies of fluorocarbon surfactants are evaluated and compared with those of their hydrocarbon analogues. We find that the greater rigidity of the fluorocarbon chain promotes its packing in micellar aggregates of low curvatures, such as bilayers. In addition, the mean-field approach is utilized to predict the average conformational characteristics (specifically, the bond order parameters) of fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactant tails within the micelle core, and the predictions are found to agree well with the available experimental results. The electrostatic effects in fluorocarbon ionic surfactant micelles are modeled by allowing for counterion binding onto the charged micelle surface, which accounts explicitly for the effect of the counterion type on the micellar solution properties. In addition, a theoretical formulation is developed to evaluate the free energy of micellization and the size distribution of finite disklike micelles, which often form in the case of fluorocarbon surfactants. We find that, compared to their hydrocarbon analogues, fluorocarbon surfactants exhibit a greater tendency to form cylindrical or disklike micelles, as a result of their larger molecular volume as well as due to the greater conformational rigidity of the fluorocarbon tails. The molecular-thermodynamic theory developed is then applied to several ionic fluorocarbon surfactant-electrolyte systems, including perfluoroalkanoates and perfluorosulfonates with added LiCl or NH(4)Cl, and various micellar solution properties, including critical micelle concentrations (cmc's), optimal micelle shapes, and average micelle aggregation numbers, are predicted. The predicted micellar solution properties agree reasonably well with the available experimental results.     

Effect of the nature of the spacer on the aggregation properties of gemini surfactants in an aqueous solution

The aggregation properties of three dicationic quaternary ammonium gemini surfactants with the same structure, except the spacer group, diethyl ether, six methylene, and p-xylyl, have been studied using electrical conductivity and fluorescence. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the micelle aggregation number (N) were determined, and the micropolarity and the microviscosity of the micelle were characterized. The micelle ionization degree (alpha) was obtained by a combination of the electrical conductivity data and the micelle aggregation number. Furthermore, the Gibbs free energy of micellization (deltaGmic) was studied. These results have shown that the nature of the spacer has an important effect on the aggregation properties of gemini surfactants in an aqueous solution. A hydrophilic, flexible spacer prompts micelle formation, which leads to a smaller cmc, smaller alpha, larger N, and more negative deltaGmic. Meanwhile, the microviscosity study indicates that the gemini surfactant with a hydrophilic, flexible spacer forms a more closely packed micelle structure than the one with a hydrophobic, rigid spacer.     

Micelle–monomer equilibria in solutions of ionic surfactants and in ionic–nonionic mixtures: A generalized phase separation model

On the basis of a detailed physicochemical model, a complete system of equations is formulated that describes the equilibrium between micelles and monomers in solutions of ionic surfactants and their mixtures with nonionic surfactants. The equations of the system express mass balances, chemical and mechanical equilibria. Each nonionic surfactant is characterized by a single thermodynamic parameter — its micellization constant. Each ionic surfactant is characterized by three parameters, including the Stern constant that quantifies the counterion binding. In the case of mixed micelles, each pair of surfactants is characterized with an interaction parameter, β, in terms of the regular solution theory. The comparison of the model with experimental data for surfactant binary mixtures shows that β is constant — independent of the micelle composition and electrolyte concentration. The solution of the system of equations gives the concentrations of all monomeric species, the micelle composition, ionization degree, surface potential and mean area per head group. Upon additional assumptions for the micelle shape, the mean aggregation number can be also estimated. The model gives quantitative theoretical interpretation of the dependence of the critical micellization concentration (CMC) of ionic surfactants on the ionic strength; of the CMC of mixed surfactant solutions, and of the electrolytic conductivity of micellar solutions. It turns out, that in the absence of added salt the conductivity is completely dominated by the contribution of the small ions: monomers and counterions. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experimental data.     

Micelle formation of nonionic surfactants in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: surfactant chain length dependence of the critical micelle concentration

Micellization behavior was investigated for polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants with varying chain length (C(n)E(m)) in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)). Critical micelle concentration (cmc) was determined from the variation of (1)H NMR chemical shift with the surfactant concentration. The logarithmic value of cmc decreased linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the surfactant hydrocarbon chain, similarly to the case observed in aqueous surfactant solutions. However, the slope of the straight line is much smaller in bmimBF(4) than in aqueous solution. Thermodynamic parameters for micelle formation estimated from the temperature dependence of cmc showed that the micellization in bmimBF(4) is an entropy-driven process around room temperature. This behavior is also similar to the case in aqueous solution. However, the magnitude of the entropic contribution to the overall micellization free energy in bmimBF(4) is much smaller compared with that in aqueous solution. These results suggest that the micellization in bmimBF(4) proceeds through a mechanism similar to the hydrophobic interaction in aqueous surfactant solutions, although the solvophobic effect in bmimBF(4) is much weaker than the hydrophobic effect.     

Critical evaluation of micellization behavior of nonionic surfactant MEGA 10 in comparison with ionic surfactant tetradecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide studied by microcalorimetric method in aqueous medium

The micellization behavior of MEGA 10 has been studied at nine different temperatures by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and thermodynamics of the process have been evaluated and examined in detail. The aggregation number of the nonionic surfactant has been estimated from the ITC results by a simulation procedure based on the mass action principle of micellization of the surfactant. The cmc of MEGA 10 has shown a minimum in temperature dependence as observed for ionic surfactants. For a comparison, the cmc and related thermodynamic parameters of an ionic surfactant, tetradecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (C(14)TPB) studied at several temperatures in aqueous medium has been considered. The contributions of the headgroups of both the surfactants to the free energies of their respective micellization have been deciphered and presented.     

Effect of head group polarity and spacer chain length on the aggregation properties of gemini surfactants in an aquatic environment

The aggregation behavior of cationic gemini surfactants with respect to variation in head group polarity and spacer length is studied through conductance, surface tension, viscosity, and small-angle neutron-scattering (SANS) measurements. The critical micellar concentration (cmc), average degree of micelle ionization (beta(ave)), minimum area per molecule of surfactant at the air-water interface (A(min)), surface excess concentration (gamma(max)), and Gibb's free energy of micellization (delta G(mic)) of the surfactants were determined from conductance and surface tension data. The aggregation numbers (N), dimensions of micelles (b/a), effective fractional charge per monomer (alpha), and hydration of micelles (h(E)) were determined from SANS and viscosity data, respectively. The increasing head group polarity of gemini surfactant with spacer chain length of 4 methylene units promotes micellar growth, leading to a decrease in cmc, beta(ave), and delta G(mic) and an increase in N and b/a. This is well supported by the observed increase in hydration (h(E)) of micelles with increase in aggregation number (N) and dimension (b/a) of micelle.     

Micelle formation of N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl)- and N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorononyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chlorides

Micelle formation of N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl)-N,N,N- and N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorononyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride was investigated by analyzing the concentration dependence of the electric conductivity and of the activity of the counterion (Cl(-)) of the solution. The three micellization parameters for ionic surfactants, the micellization constant K(n), the micelle aggregation number n, and the number of counterions per micelle m, were determined by combination of electric conductivity and counterion concentration. The present analysis employed two slopes of the plots of specific conductivity against surfactant concentration below and above the critical micelle concentration and the mass action model of micelle formation. The aggregation numbers thus obtained were relatively small, while the degrees of counterion binding to the micelle (m/n) were found to be quite large, much larger than expected from the small aggregation numbers. Thermodynamical parameters of the micellization were evaluated from the temperature dependence of the three parameters, and the micellization of the fluorinated surfactant was found to be enthalpy-driven. A CF(2) group in the perfluorocarbon chain was found to be 1.44 times larger in hydrophobicity for micellization than a CH(2) group in the hydrocarbon chain.     

Thermodynamics of micellization of multiheaded single-chain cationic surfactants

The energetics of micelle formation of three single-chain cationic surfactants bearing single (h = 1), double (h = 2), and triple (h = 3) trimethylammonium [(+)N(CH(3))(3)] headgroups have been investigated by microcalorimetry. The results were compared with the microcalorimetric data obtained from well-known cationic surfactant, cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), bearing a single chain and single headgroup. The critical micellar concentrations (cmc's) and the degrees of counterion dissociation (alpha) of micelles of these surfactants were also determined by conductometry. The cmc and the alpha values increased with the increase in the number of headgroups of the surfactant. The relationship between the cmc of the surfactant in solution and its free energy of micellization (DeltaG(m)) was derived for each surfactant. Exothermic enthalpies of micellization (DeltaH(m)) and positive entropies of micellization (DeltaS(m)) were observed for all the surfactants. Negative DeltaH(m) values increased from CTAB to h = 1 to h = 2 and decreased for h = 3 whereas DeltaS(m) values decreased with increase in the number of headgroups. The DeltaG(m) values progressively became less negative with the increase in the number of headgroups. This implies that micelle formation becomes progressively less favorable as more headgroups are incorporated in the surfactant. From the steady-state fluorescence measurements using pyrene as a probe, the micropolarities sensed by the probe inside various micelles were determined. These studies suggest that the micelles are more hydrated with multiheaded surfactants and the micropolarity of micelles increases with the increase in the number of headgroups.     

Thermodynamic characterization of 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonium]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) micellization using isothermal titration calorimetry: temperature, salt, and pH dependence

A systematic investigation of the micellization process of a biocompatible zwitterionic surfactant 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonium]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) has been carried out by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) at temperatures between 278.15 K and 328.15 K in water, aqueous NaCl (0.1, 0.5, and 1 M), and buffer solutions (pH = 3.0, 6.8, and 7.8). The effect of different cations and anions on the micellization of CHAPS surfactant has been also examined in LiCl, CsCl, NaBr, and NaI solutions at 308.15 K. It turned out that the critical micelle concentration, cmc, is only slightly shifted toward lower values in salt solutions, whereas in buffer media it remains similar to its value in water. From the results obtained, it could be assumed that CHAPS behaves as a weakly charged cationic surfactant in salt solutions and as a nonionic surfactant in water and buffer medium. Conventional surfactants alike, CHAPS micellization is endothermic at low and exothermic at high temperatures, but the estimated enthalpy of micellization, ΔHM0, is considerably lower in comparison with that obtained for ionic surfactants in water and NaCl solutions. The standard Gibbs free energy, ΔGM0, and entropy, ΔSM0, of micellization were estimated by fitting the model equation based on the mass action model to the experimental data. The aggregation numbers of CHAPS surfactant around cmc, obtained by the fitting procedure also, are considerably low (nagg ≈ 5 ± 1). Furthermore, some predictions about the hydration of the micelle interior based on the correlation between heat capacity change, Δcp,M0, and changes in solvent-accessible surface upon micelle formation were made. CHAPS molecules are believed to stay in contact with water upon aggregation, which is somehow similar to the micellization process of short alkyl chain cationic surfactants.     

Synthesis and surface properties of semi-fluorinated gemini surfactants with two reactive bromo pendant groups

This paper presents a series of semi-fluorinated gemini surfactants with two bromo pendant groups. It reviews the effect of the number of methylene units in the spacer group between the two hydrophilic quaternary ammonium heads. Critical micelle concentration (cmc) and free energy of micellization (ΔG(M)(0)) of the title surfactants, in aqueous solution, have been investigated as a function of the number n of carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon spacer. We have pointed out a different behaviour as compared to Gemini hydrocarbon homologues. In the present study, when the number of methylene units (n) in the spacer increases, the cmc first decreases and reaches an optimum for (n=6), then it increases linearly from n≥6. Variations of cmc have been interpreted in terms of conformation changes of the surfactant ion and progressive penetration of the alkyl chain spacer in the micelle hydrophobic core. In this series, the increase of the hydrophobicity seems not to favour the micellisation process as expected, probably impacted by the mutual phobicity of the perfluorinated tails and the hydrocarbon spacer. A minimum is reached for a spacer with six methylene units which seems to be the optimal conformation. The free energy of micellization (ΔG(M)(0)) confirm this tendency.     

N-酰基-L-丝氨酸钠表面活性剂的合成和胶束化热力学性质

以L-丝氨酸和长链酰氯为原料,合成了3种不同碳链长度（n=8,12,14）的N-酰基-L-丝氨酸。 并以1H NMR、ESI-MS和元素分析对3种目标产物进行了表征。 采用表面张力法研究了N-酰基-L-丝氨酸钠在298、308、318和328 K时水溶液中的聚集行为,确定了临界胶束浓度（cmc）、临界胶束浓度下的最低表面张力（γcmc）、表面饱和吸附量Γmax。 由cmc和温度的关系,应用相分离模型计算了胶束化热力学参数ΔGom、ΔHom和ΔSom。 结果表明,ΔGom＜0,ΔHom的绝对值比-TΔSom绝对值小的多,说明胶束化过程为熵驱动过程,随着温度的升高,胶束化过程是熵-焓补偿的过程。     

Microcalorimetric and conductivity studies with micelles prepared from multi-headed pyridinium surfactants

A set of novel single-chain surfactants bearing one (P1), two (P2), and three (P3) pyridinium headgroups have been synthesized in an attempt to achieve control over the aggregate properties. The critical micellar concentrations (cmc's) and the degrees of counterion dissociation (alpha) of micelles of these surfactants were determined by conductometry. The cmc and the alpha values increased with increase in the number of headgroups of the surfactant. The thermodynamics of micellization of these surfactants were investigated by microcalorimetry, and the results were compared with that of well-known single-chain/single-headgroup surfactant, cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB). The relationship between the cmc of surfactant in solution and its free energy of micellization (deltaG(o)m) was derived for each surfactant. Exothermic enthalpies of micellization (deltaH(o)m) and positive entropies of micellization (deltaS(o)m) were observed for all the surfactants. deltaH(o)m values were found to be more negative for CPB than P1, and it increased with a negative sign from P1 to P2 and decreased for P3. In contrast the deltaS(o)m values decreased with increase in the number of headgroups. The deltaG(o)m values progressively became less negative with increase in the number of headgroups. This implies that micelle formation becomes less favorable as more headgroups are incorporated in the surfactant.     

Monte carlo simulations of micellization in model ionic surfactants: application to sodium dodecyl sulfate

A lattice model for ionic surfactants with explicit counterions is proposed for which the micellization behavior can be accurately determined from grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. The model is characterized by a few parameters that can be adjusted to represent various linear surfactants with ionic headgroups. The model parameters have a clear physical interpretation and can be obtained from experimental data unrelated to micellization, namely, geometric information and solubilities of tail segments. As a specific example, parameter values for sodium dodecyl sulfate were obtained by optimizing for the solubility of hydrocarbons in water and the structural properties of dodecane. The critical micelle concentration (cmc), average aggregation number, degree of counterion binding, and their dependence on temperature were determined from histogram reweighting grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and were compared to experimental results. The model gives the correct trend and order of magnitude for all quantities but underpredicts the cmc and aggregation number. We suggest ways to modify the model that may improve agreement with experimental values.     

Mixed micelles of alkylamines and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride

The influence of chain length and the nature of the head group on the composition of micelles of a binary mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride with both unsubstituted and N-substituted n-octyl, n-decyl, and n-lauryl amines was established from the variation of the critical micelle concentration (cmc) as a function of the solution composition. A synergistic effect was observed in all instances that were found to be correlated with chain length and the type of N-substituent on the alkylamine head group. Experimental data were compared with theoretical predictions based on the equilibrium between micelles and monomers in solution. The Motomura treatment was used to determine the composition of each compound in the mixed micelles (Xi(m)). Mixing nonideality was expressed in terms of the molecular interaction parameter (beta12) as determined using the theory of Holland and Rubingh. Finally, the molecular thermodynamic model for mixed surfactant systems developed by Puvvada and Blankschtein was used to estimate the micellization free energy (DeltaGM) and to evaluate the synergistic phenomenon.     

Mixed micelle formation among anionic gemini surfactant (212) and its monomer (SDMA) with conventional surfactants (C12E5 and C12E8) in brine solution at pH 11

The micellization of anionic gemini surfactant, N,N'-ethylene(bis(sodium N-dodecanoyl-beta-alaninate)) (212), and its monomer, N-dodecanoyl-N-methyl alaninate (SDMA), and polyethoxylated nonionic surfactants, C(12)E(5) and C(12)E(8), has been studied tensiometrically in pure and mixed states in an aqueous solution of 0.1 M NaCl at pH 11 to determine physicochemical properties such as critical micellar concentration (cmc), surface tension at the cmc (gamma(cmc)), maximum surface excess (Gamma(max)) and minimum area per surfactant molecule at the air/water interface (A(min)). The theories of Rosen, Rubingh, Motomura, Maeda, and Nagarajan have been applied to investigate the interaction between those surfactants at the interface and in the micellar solution, the composition of the aggregates formed, the theoretical cmc in pure and mixed states, and the structural parameters as proposed by Tanford and Israelachvili. Various thermodynamic parameters (free energy of micellization and interfacial adsorption) have been calculated with the help of regular solution theory and the pseudophase model for micellization.