Self-aggregation of surfactants in water solution by NMR

Abstract

Dynamic behavior of surfactant molecules, sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSN), cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and triton X-100, and their micelles in water solution at various concentrations were studied by chemical shift, self diffusion coefficient (D) and nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation (T1 and T2) measurements. Experimental results show that there exist turning points at surfactant concentration (C) nearby the critical micelle concentration (cmc) for all of the above-mentioned parameters, which approach the constant values when C equals 5 to 10 times cmc. T1 and T2 measurements show that when C<cmc, Triton X-100 molecules exhibit fast isotropic motion in water solution. After micellization, the motion of hydrophobic chains is far away from the extreme narrowing condition, however, the long hydrophilic oxyethylene chains move relatively freely, although their T1 and T2 become shorter in comparison with those of the molecules in mono-molecular state. The behavior of the hydrophobic chains within the micellar core of SDSN and CTAB is similar to that of Triton X-100 to some extent.