Study of aggregation behavior between N-lauryl sarcosine sodium and Dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide in aqueous solution, using conductometric and spectrophotometric techniques.

Abstract The micellization behavior of N -Lauryl sarcosine sodium (NLS, an anionic surfactant) and Dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DOTAB, a cationic surfactant) in aqueous solution is investigated by UV–vis spectrophotometric and conductometric methods at 298.15 K. A critical micelle concentration (CMC) were obtained for pure NLS and DOTAB as well as mixed micelles [NLS(1) + DOTAB(2)]. The CMC values of the studied system at different mole fractions (y i) are much less than that of individual surfactants (due to the strong electrostatic attraction between components after mixing). In this work, the tautomers of 1-phenyl-1, 3-butadione (or benzoylacetone) were used to obtain the mixed CMC of anionic surfactant systems by UV–Vis technique. The deviations of critical micelle concentration (CMC) from the ideal values show the interaction between NLS and DOTAB. The micellar mole fraction values (X 1 m and X 2 m ) according to Rubingh approach were calculated and the results obtained reveal the same composition in the mixed micellization at most mole fraction(y 1) even when the initial mixing ratio is far from equimolar. The activity coefficients of components were less than unity (f 1 m < < 1 and f 2 m < < 1) and the values of the interaction parameter (β m ) are negative in all compositions, which indicate the strong synergistic interaction between NLS and DOTAB. The Gibbs free energy of micellization (ΔG mic 0) and the excess free energy of micellization (G mic E ) values are found to be negative in this system demonstrated the stability of the mixture. All of the evaluated results imply a strong synergism between components. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Interaction between cationic and anionic surfactants has been investigated. • The maximum synergism point for DOTAB-NLS, has been observed at the same mole fraction of components. • The mixed micelle composition and the interaction parameter were calculated using RST theory. • Thermodynamic parameters of micellization (ΔG mic 0 and G mic E ) were calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]