Effect of the Location of Reactants in the L2 Phase on the Chemical Reactivity

Abstract

Different reactions have been studied in CTAB and SDS reverse micelles in alkanols. For the basic hydrolysis of crystal violet in CTAB reverse micelles, where both reactants are located in the aqueous region of the micelle, the micellar effect on the reaction is mainly related with the effective dielectric constant of these regions. In the case of reactions where reactants are located in different parts of the micelle such as the basic hydrolysis of crystal violet and alkanols oxidation in reverse SDS micelles in alkanols, the reaction depends on conductivity of the mixture. This can be related to the formation of water channels formation which increases the surface of the aqueous regions. This increase of the interface area produces changes of the surface concentration of the reactants which influence the rate constant.