AGGREGATION OF ANIONIC AND NONIONIC POLY(OXYETHYLENE) SURFACTANTS IN MULTICOMPONENT SYSTEMS, AS STUDIED BY THE SPIN-PROBE TECHNIQUE - LOCATION OF THE VINYL-ACETATE COMPONENT

A structural characterization of the multicomponent system poly(oxyeth ylene) surfactant/water/ethanol/vinyl acetate has been attempted, usin g the spin probe technique, Four spin probes with various polarities h ave been used to probe the formation of surfactant aggregates, as well as their structural characteristics (local polarity, microviscosity, and order of the surfactant chains) vs composition for a series of mon ophasic samples with a constant ethanol/vinyl acetate ratio, The compo sition ranges where aggregation occurs are shown. It has been shown th at, while vinyl acetate is solubilized in the poly(oxythylene) region of the aggregates, ethanol does not seem to be involved in the aggrega te construction. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.