A comparison of some rheophysical properties of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/H2O and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/D2O solutions

In this paper, we report the results of rheological and optical experiments performed on two solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in D2O and H2 O. The molar concentration of surfactant is the same in both solvents, with the solvents only differing in their atomic number. Important differences in the behaviour of the shear stress and of the birefringence intensity wit h the shear rate are found. We try to interpret these results by referring to the difference in solubility of ionic salts in D2O and H2O.