Interaction between anionic polyelectrolytes and CTAB micelles. A potentiometric study

Abstract

The interaction between a series of anionic copolymers having variable hydrophobic character with cationic micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) has been studied by measuring the free bromide ion concentration. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of polymer concentration on the ionization degree (α) of the CTAB micelles. The value of α increases with increasing polymer concentration. The magnitude of this effect depends on the hydrophobicity of the polymer chain, which is determined by the length of the alkyl side chain.