Additive Effects on the Microstructure Evolution in Hexadecyltrimethylammonium Bromide Solution and Its Rheological Properties

Abstract

The effects of various additives on the microstructure evolution in hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide micellar solution and its rheological properties are investigated. The additives considered in the present study are primary, secondary, and tertiary heptanols and sodium salicylate (NaSal). The microstructure is developed via the two-step shape transitions in the micellar solution; first, the initial spherical micelles undergo shape transition to rod-like or disc-like micelles as the micelles tend to be packed compactly with increase in the surfactant concentration; then further increment in the surfactant concentration makes the anisotropic rod-like micelles overlap each other. Solutions in these states exhibit typical non-Newtonian behaviors such as shear thinning at high shear rates. In the present study, the additive effects on the microstructure evolution are investigated by employing various techniques including a phase modulated flow birefringence, a dynamic light scattering and a dynamic oscillatory rheometry. The results show that addition of the solubilized additives enhances the microstructure transitions, which are affected by the additive concentration and its chemical structure. Presence of the cosurfactants such as heptanols with hydrophobic alkyl chains reduces the repulsion by forming surfactant–alcohol mixed micelles. The primary heptanol can penetrate easily into the micelles and aligned parallel to the surfactant molecules compared with the secondary and tertiary heptanols. Thus, the primary heptanol enhances the two-step shape evolutions more effectively than the other types. In the presence of NaSal, on the other hand, the micellar solution exhibits the viscoelastic properties and the yield stress owing to the formation of networked or worm-like micelles.