Physicochemical characteristics of reverse micelles of polyoxyethylene nonyl phenol in different organic solvents

The association of polyoxyethylene nonyl phenol (Igepal) in four different organic solvents such as chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, cyclohexane, and heptane has been studied. The critical micellar concentration of the reverse micelle (RM) formed in different nonaqueous media has been determined using four different techniques: UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Stokes shift, and NMR spectroscopic studies. From the correlation of cmc with hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB), we have found that cmc decreases with decrease in HLB. The obtained cmc values using different methods have been found to be consistent and facilitate the determination of DeltaG values associated with the micellization. The association constant of the dye molecule Safranine T (ST) with the reverse micelle, aggregation number of the surfactant monomer, and location of fluorophore in the RM have been determined. The vertical ionization potential of Igepal, electron affinity of the dye, and the degree of charge transfer have been estimated by the theoretical AM1 calculations. A linear relationship has been obtained between cmc(s) and the ionization potential of the solvents. The polarity of the micelle solubilization sites has been determined from the solvatochromic shift, Kosower Z value, and ET(30) value.