Effect of preferential adsorption on the synergism of a homologous cationic surfactant mixture

To evaluate the effect of preferential surface adsorption of bromide ions on the synergism of homologous cationic surfactant mixtures reported previously, the surface tension of the aqueous solutions of the hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (HTAC)-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) system was measured as a function of the total molality of surfactants and the relative proportion of DTAB at 298.15 +/- 0.05 K under atmospheric pressure. The excess Gibbs energies calculated from them were -2.6 kJ mol(-)(1) in the mixed adsorbed film and -2.0 kJ mol(-)(1) in the mixed micelle, respectively. A useful analytical procedure to evaluate the composition of individual ions (hexadecyltrimethylammonium, dodecyltrimethylammonium, chloride, and bromide ions) in the adsorbed film and micelle was developed and applied.