Micelle formation of N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl)- and N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorononyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chlorides

Langmuir. 2005 Jan 4;21(1):13-8. doi: 10.1021/la040094g.

Abstract

Micelle formation of N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl)-N,N,N- and N-(1,1-dihydroperfluorononyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride was investigated by analyzing the concentration dependence of the electric conductivity and of the activity of the counterion (Cl(-)) of the solution. The three micellization parameters for ionic surfactants, the micellization constant K(n), the micelle aggregation number n, and the number of counterions per micelle m, were determined by combination of electric conductivity and counterion concentration. The present analysis employed two slopes of the plots of specific conductivity against surfactant concentration below and above the critical micelle concentration and the mass action model of micelle formation. The aggregation numbers thus obtained were relatively small, while the degrees of counterion binding to the micelle (m/n) were found to be quite large, much larger than expected from the small aggregation numbers. Thermodynamical parameters of the micellization were evaluated from the temperature dependence of the three parameters, and the micellization of the fluorinated surfactant was found to be enthalpy-driven. A CF(2) group in the perfluorocarbon chain was found to be 1.44 times larger in hydrophobicity for micellization than a CH(2) group in the hydrocarbon chain.