Studies on Hydrophobic Effect and Micelle Formation of Some Surfactant-Cr(III)-Cetylamine Complexes in Non-aqueous Solvents

Surface active micelle formable surfactant-Cr(III) complexes of the type cis-α-Cr(trien)(C₁₆H₃₃NH₂)X]²⁺ (where trien = triethylenetetramine; X = F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻) have been studied in n-alcohol and in formamide at different temperatures by conductance measurements. Standard Gibbs energy changes (ΔG ^o _mic), enthalpies (ΔH ^o _mic) and entropies (ΔS ^o _mic) of micelle formation have been determined by studying the variation of the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) with temperature. Critical micelle concentrations have also been measured as a function of percentage concentration of alcohol added. It is suggested that alcohol addition leads to an increase in formamide penetration into the micellar interface that depends on the alcohol chain length. The results are discussed in terms of an increased hydrophobic effect, dielectric constant of the medium, the chain length of the alcohols and the surfactant in the solvent mixture.