Effect of pH on the binding of alkyl sulfates to gelatin

A surfactant-selective eletrode in which the membrane is an o-nitrotoluene phase containing a dissolved complex of cetyltrimethylammonium-dodecyl sulfate has been applied to investigations of the interaction between gelatin and alkyl sulfates as well as gelatin and alkyltrimethylammoniumions in dilute aqueous solutions.The binding isotherms were obtained by comparing emf-values obtained for surfactant in water to the electrode potentials in gelatin solutions plotted in terms of surfactant concentration.The binding of alkyl sulfates was measured as a function of pH at constant free surfactant concentration. At pH values 7 the degree of binding is indpendent of the pH of the solution. The level of binding of alkyl sulfates to gelatin increases strongly with increasing chain length of the alkyl sulfate. At pH values 6 the extent of binding increases steeply with decreasing pH. Octyl sulfate shows a very low level of binding even at low pH. Cationics show much weaker interactions with gelatin than anionic surfactants of comparable alkyl chain length.