Solubilization of PAH mixtures by three different anionic surfactants

Solubilization of naphthalene and phenanthrene into the micelles formed by three different anionic surfactants was investigated for single, binary, and ternary mixtures including pyrene. The three surfactants were sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDDBS), monoalkylated disulfonated diphenyl oxide (MADS-C12), and dialkylated disulfonated diphenyl oxide (DADS-C12). The order of increasing solubility enhancement of naphthalene and phenanthrene was SDDBS < MADS-C12 < < DADS-C12, which indicates that the hydrophobic chains in micellar core play more important role for the solubilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than the benzene rings in palisade layer of a micelle. The solubility enhancement of naphthalene was slightly changed in PAH mixtures. The solubility of phenanthrene was greatly enhanced in presence of naphthalene but reduced in presence of pyrene. The explanation for these results could be that less hydrophobic compounds can be solubilized at the interfacial region of a hydrophobic core, which reduces the interfacial tension between the core and water, and then the reduced interfacial tension can support a larger core volume for the same interfacial energy.