Spectroscopic route to monitoring individual surfactant ions and micelles in aqueous solution: A case study

Abstract

AbstractUsing a very popular and commonly used surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS, C18H29SO3Na) for a case study, we report a new method of monitoring different forms of surfactant molecules in aqueous solution and measuring their critical micelle concentration (CMC) by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The forms of SDBS micelles are also investigated by synthesizing and characterizing NiB nanoparticles using the micelles as molecular templates. In addition, the observed shifts of UV-Vis bands are analysed from the viewpoint of the electrons locations and distributions within the molecules and the possible overlap of their electronic orbitals between neighbouring molecules in each micelle.