EFFECT OF CROWN-ETHER 1,4,7,10,13,16-HEXAOXACYCLOOCTADECANE ON THE STRUCTURE OF SODIUM DODECYL-SULFATE AND DODECYLTRIMETHYLAMMONIUM BROMIDEAQUEOUS MICELLAR SOLUTIONS
E. Caponetti et al., EFFECT OF CROWN-ETHER 1,4,7,10,13,16-HEXAOXACYCLOOCTADECANE ON THE STRUCTURE OF SODIUM DODECYL-SULFATE AND DODECYLTRIMETHYLAMMONIUM BROMIDEAQUEOUS MICELLAR SOLUTIONS, Langmuir, 11(7), 1995, pp. 2464-2470
The effects of the addition of crown ether 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclo
octadecane on the structure of aqueous solutions of surfactants sodium
dodecyl sulfate and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide have been studie
d by small angle neutron scattering. By modeling the scattering intens
ities, it was possible to derive, simultaneously, both structural prop
erties and information on the distribution of crown ether between the
micellar and aqueous phases. In the case of sodium dodecyl sulfate, an
appreciable amount of crown ether was found to be localized in the mi
cellar phase, though it was not possible to establish whether it was i
n the core or in the shell; there was no evidence of crown ether local
ization in dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide micelles. The above observ
ations indicate that although, at least in principle, the crown ether
methylene groups could interact hydrophobically in the micellar core w
ith the surfactant alkyl chains, the ability of crown ethers to form m
etal complexes might also lead, in sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions, t
o electrostatic interactions in the external palisade between the crow
n ether-sodium ion complex and the surfactant head groups. The absence
of crown ether from dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide micelles indicat
es that the macrocyclic molecules interact with sodium dodecyl sulfate
micelles via the formation of a complex between the sodium ion and th
e crown ether and rules out the possibility of hydrophobic interaction
in the micellar core.