Heats of dilution of 1-butanol and phenol in aqueous micellar solutions of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) have been measured at 298.15 K with a dynamic-flow Picker microcalorimeter and used for determining the relative apparent molar enthalpies of dilution ( L ø,3 ) of solutes. The variation of L ø,3 for both solutes, at low concentrations, as a function of the surfactant concentration provides evidence of a postmicellar transition occurring at 0.2 mol kg −1 in SDS solutions. In each micellar domain, at concentrations below and above 0.2 mol kg −1, the limiting apparent molar enthalpies of dilution of the solute (extrapolated to 1 m=0 from the linear dependence of the inverse of surfactant concentration predicted by the pseudophase model), reflect various trends. For 1-butanol, both values are close to one another, whereas for phenol, where the sign of the linear slopes also changes, the limiting values are noticeably different. The latter indicates that a modification of the counterion binding, accompanying the postmicellar transition, occurred. For concentrated solute mixtures at fixed surfactant composition, an analysis of the variation of the abnormal, relative apparent molar enthalpies of dilution of 1-butanol with its unique concentration, shows that 1-butanol is strongly trapped in alcohol aggregates stabilized by the surfactant and, consequently, acts as a good cosurfactant capable of forming microemulsions. Alternatively, although phenol hydrophobicity is similar to that of 1-butanol, owing to its acid character, it is mostly solubilized in the aqueous layer of micelles and does not penetrate deeply towards the micellar interior and, hence, could not be considered as a very efficient cosurfactant.
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