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Conductivity, A Simple Method to Probe Micellar Solutions

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Steven J. Bachofer

Saint Mary''s College, Moraga, CA 94575

J. Chem. Educ., 1996, 73 (9), p 861

DOI: 10.1021/ed073p861

Publication Date (Web): September 1, 1996

Abstract

A conductivity experiment on the tetradecyltrimethylammonium X-benzoate surfactants and the corresponding sodium X-benzoate salts demonstrates how this physical property can be applied to the study of the complex equilibria of ionic micellar aggregates. The surfactant CMC and fractional ionization constant (alpha) values are determined from the conductivity measurements. A student class studies the surfactants, in which a number of substituted benzoate counterions are utilized, and can be introduced to Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) to explain the resulting CMC values. High quality data can be recorded with ease. The data from a student class illustrate that CMC values are sensitive to the hydrophobicity of the X-benzoate anion. However, hydrophobicity is not the only important parameter to be considered. The student class can propose other important factors with some additional reading of the colloidal literature.

Keywords (Audience):

Upper-Division Undergraduate

Keywords (Domain):

Physical Chemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Conductivity

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

Thermodynamics of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Micellization: An Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment
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  Juan P. Marcolongo and Martín Mirenda
  Journal of Chemical Education2011 88 (5), 629-633
  An undergraduate laboratory experiment is presented that allows a thermodynamic characterization of micelle formation of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solutions. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the degree of micelle ionization (α) ...
  Abstract | Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Conductimetric Titrations: A Predict−Observe−Explain Activity for General Chemistry
K. Christopher Smith, Etinosa Edionwe, and Bayyinah Michel
Journal of Chemical Education2010 87 (11), 1217-1221
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  A predict−observe−explain framework is used to explore conductimetric titrations of a hydrochloric acid−sodium hydroxide (strong acid−strong base) and an acetic acid−sodium hydroxide (weak acid−strong base) system in which all components are soluble. In ...
  Abstract | Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links