Towards a general understanding of the effects of hydrophobic additives on the viscosity of surfactant solutions

Abstract

Small amounts of nonpolar additives can have a tremendous impact on viscosity and viscoelasticity of giant micelles and completely change macroscopic properties. The effect can be best understood with the establishment of complete salt curves by screening surfactant viscosity as a function of electrolyte concentration. From previous studies in micellar systems of sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) with fragrance molecules, two independent mechanisms could be identified, co-solvent type interactions leading to a decrease of the maximum viscosity, and co-surfactant type interactions that cause the salt curve shift to the left. Our studies here reveal two new mechanisms with different effects on the salt curve. In particular, with long-chain hydrocarbons from n-octane to n-tetradecane a right shift was observed, whereas with short-chain or cyclic hydrocarbons such as n-hexane or cyclohexane the maximum viscosity increases. The two effects are interpreted via an extension of a recently developed thermodynamic model where changes in viscosity can be rationalized by a rebalance of the relative concentration of the three co-existing microphases: endcaps, cylinders and branching points. The right shift is linked to a continuous transformation of giant micelles into microemulsions containing an internal fluid. On the other hand, viscosity at maximum scales with the generalized bending constant of the molecular film forming the three microphases of the surfactant system. The total of four proposed mechanisms of solute-surfactant interactions that can impact amplitude and position of salt curves are independent and of different origin, but they are all intimately linked to the location of the additives within the surfactant film: headgroup, micellar interface, surfactant tail region or micellar core. Further investigation will be necessary to understand the molecular driving forces that position nonpolar additives within micellar aggregates, which would be the key for successful prediction of their impact on macroscopic viscosity.