Ky. Mya et al., Effect of temperature and molecular weight on binding between poly(ethylene oxide) and cationic surfactant in aqueous solutions, LANGMUIR, 16(15), 2000, pp. 6131-6135
The formation of a polymer-surfactant complex upon mixing a nonionic polyme
r, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), with a cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimeth
ylammonium chloride (HTAC), is studied by observing the changes in conducti
vity, specific viscosity (Bsp), and hydrodynamic radius (Rh) in terms of th
e solution temperature and PEO molecular weight. The conductivity data show
clearly that an interaction between PEO and HTAC occurs at a temperature a
bove 25 degrees C, as indicated by a decrease in the critical association c
oncentration in the presence of PEO relative to the critical micelle concen
tration of a surfactant in the absence of PEG. Diminishing hydrophilicity o
f PEO upon increasing temperature is suggested to induce a stronger interac
tion between PEO and HTAC. The higher the temperature and the PEO molecular
weight are, the more pronounced the peaks in eta(sp) and R-h Will be. The
amount of surfactant molecules per chain varies with molecular weight, but
it is independent of temperature. Our results suggest that the strength of
the polymer surfactant interaction increases with the increasing hydrophobi
city of each component.