Differences in binding of a cationic surfactant to cross-linked sodium poly(acrylate) and sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) studied by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy has been used to investigate the structure of gel-surfactant complexes. Cross-linked sodium poly(acrylate) and sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) were immersed in solutions of the cationic surfactant dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide. During the deswelling process, two distinct regions could be observed for both types of gels. Looking at the Raman spectra, however, for the poly(styrene sulfonate), the surfactant could be found throughout the gel particle, whereas for poly(acrylate), essentially all the surfactant was bound in a surface layer.