Influence of Surfynol® 104 on aggregation behaviour of Triton X-100 micelles

Abstract

Aqueous solution behaviour of non-ionic surfactant namely, p-tert-octylphenoxy polyethylene (9.5) ether, Triton X-100 (abbreviated as TX-100) was examined in the presence of an amphiphilic hydrophobic diol (Surfynol® 104) using viscosity, cloud point (CP), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements. Surfynol® 104 is a hydrophobic diol with limited aqueous solubility. It decreases the CP, elevates the solution viscosity of TX-100 solutions and leads to morphological changes of TX-100 micelles. The micellar transition was further confirmed from scattering techniques (DLS and SANS). With the aim to achieve different micellar transitions, the salt and the temperature effects were additional parameters used. It was revealed that the ellipsoidal to rod-like micellar transition observed at higher level of solubilization of Surfynol® 104 can be drag down to room temperature by incorporation of NaCl. Temperature and NaCl-aided micellar transitions were equally supported from SANS analysis. The observed structural transitions are explained in terms of the hydrophobic interaction between TX-100 and Surfynol® 104.