Competition between Monovalent and Divalent Counterions in Surfactant Systems

Abstract

Competition between mono- and divalent ions in the association of counterions to the headgroups of amphiphiles was studied in one surfactant system with organic counterions (piperidine+/piperazine2+octanesulfonate) and one with inorganic counterions (Na+/Ca2+octyl sulfate). By conductivity and13C NMR chemical shift measurements the critical micelle concentration (CMC) was found to decrease drastically when small amounts of divalent counterions were present in the system. Self-diffusion coefficients of surfactant ions and organic counterions were measured in the micellar phase by the Fourier transform pulsed-gradient spin-echo (FT-PGSE) NMR method. The degree of counterion binding in the micellar system with piperidine+/piperazine2+counterions was obtained from FT-PGSE NMR measurements. It was observed that the divalent counterions were more strongly bound than the monovalent counterions. The experimental results were compared with theoretical Poisson–Boltzmann calculations. The cell model was used to study the electrostatic effects. Good agreement between electrostatic theory and experiment was observed; however, an attractive force exists between the monovalent piperidine counterions and the micelle, probably because of hydrophobic interactions.