The salt-induced sphere-rod transition of micelles of dodecylpyridinium iodide in aqueous NaI solutions

Static light scattering has been measured on aqueous NaI solutions of dodecylpyridinium iodide (DPI) over NaI concentrations from 0 to 0.05 M. Reduced intensity of scattered light increases with increasing DPI concentration above the critical micelle concentration. The Debye plot is generally a curve with an initially positive slope and with a weakly convex, upward curvature, when the NaI concentration ranges from 0 to 0.005 M. The molecular weight of the spherical micelle of DPI is 28400 in water, and it increases slightly with increasing NaI concentration. The initial slope decreases with increasing NaI concentration and changes from positive to negative across 0.007 M NaI, which is the threshold for the sphere-rod transition and where the micelle has a molecular weight of 34400. At NaI concentrations from 0.01 to 0.05 M, the Debye plot is a curve with an initially negative slope and with a convex, downward curvature. The magnitudes of slope and curvature are larger, and the rodlike micelles of DPI have larger molecular weight and stronger mutual interaction, as the NaI concentration increases. The linear double logarithmic relationship between molecular weight and ionic strength holds for spherical and rodlike micelles, respectively.