Langmuir, Vol.12, No.18, 4350-4357, 1996
Vesicle to Micelle Transition - Rheological Investigations
Rheological experiments were carried out on aqueous dispersions of cetyltrimethylammoniumhydroxynaphthalenecarboxylate (CTAHNC) as a function of temperature. The results indicate the formation of very long elongated wormlike micelles at temperatures higher than about 50 degrees C, conferring to the system a very high viscosity. This behavior is explained by the combined effect of a large end cap energy and a low ionization degree resulting from a strong binding of the weakly soluble counterions. At lower temperature the surfactant forms a much more fluid vesicle phase, which is observed by videomicroscopy. Experiments performed on mixtures of CTAHNC and of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) show also a vesicle to micelle transition for a ratio of CTAB/CTAHNC that decreases upon increasing the temperature. The rheological behavior of the micellar phase obtained by mixing CTAB and CTAHNC is similar to that obtained for other charged micellar solutions.
Keywords:OCTYL GLUCOSIDE;AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS;LIVING POLYMERS;FLUID MEMBRANES;MIXTURES;SYSTEMS;MODEL;SALT;PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE;SURFACTANTS