Influence of surface micellar head group neutralized in hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and hydroxide (CTAOH) on the dehydrochlorination of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD)

Abstract

The basic dehydrohalogenation reactions of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD) have been studied in cationic micelles of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (CTAOH). Different theoretical approaches are discussed, considering the fraction of micellar head group neutralized, β, as a constant, or supposing different kinds of variation in its value. The following two empirical expressions for β have been found: β = 0.8 + 0.5 ([NaOH] + [KBr]) for DDT, and β = 0.8 + 1 ([NaOH] + [KBr]) for DDD, and this is the best way to explain the experimental results.