The impedance of solutions of AOT/water micelles in hexane

Abstract

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy was used to study the electric properties of solutions of reverse AOT/water micelles in hexane. An analysis of the frequency dependences of the complex electric modulus allowed us to find the region of frequencies in which dc-conductivity was observed and exclude the region of electrode effects. At frequencies f of ∼ 104Hz, the field dependences of dc-conductivity changed from linear (the Ohm law) to quadratic (the Mott law) as the volume fraction of micelles increased. This was evidence of a strengthening of the effect of current limitation by a volume charge. The upper and lower limits of the drift mobility of carriers μ responsible for dc-conductivity were estimated as 0.1 cm−2 V−1 s−1 < μ < 0.3 cm−2 V−1 s−1, which was close to the mobility of electrons in hexane. This allowed us to relate the nature of current carriers to that of free electrons; the activation energy of electron creation was found to be Ea ≈ 0.41 eV. The electron lifetime up to its trapping by acceptors was estimated. The results obtained and the literature data on the rate constants of such reactions led us to conclude that micelles were capable of absorbing acceptor impurities from solvents (additional solvent purification).