Mathematical modeling of surfactant self-organization in water solution in the presence of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Based on the experimental results mathematical modeling of surfactant molecules organization in aqueous solutions into nanostructured formations was performed. The effect of the addition of carbon nanotubes on the processes was investigated. Numerical calculations of CTAB micelles dimensionless electrostatic potential were carried out in the framework of two most commonly used approximations: the Poisson-Boltzmann model and the jellium-approximation model for various surfactant concentrations in the presence and without of carbon nanotubes. A calculation procedure was developed that made it possible to determine the region of the most active counterions redistribution. The possibility of the interaction between micelles was noted, as a result of which a common self-consistent electric field appears, leading to spatial ordering in the bulk of solution. It was shown that there is a more rapid decay of the potential for the case of CTAB micelles in the presence of carbon nanotubes, which may indicate a change in the micelles morphology and their transition to a more compact form. It has been suggested that because increasing in the local surfactant concentration is observed near the carbon surface, carbon nanotubes can act as stimulators for the formation and growth of supramolecular structural complexes.