Micellar kinetics of a fluorosurfactant through stopped-flow NMR

19F NMR chemical shifts and transverse relaxation times T2 were measured as a function of time after quick stopped-flow dilution of aqueous solutions of sodium perfluorooctanoate (NaPFO) with water. Different initial concentrations of micellar solution and different proportions of mixing were tested. Previous stopped-flow studies by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (TR-SAXS) detection indicated a slow (approximately 10 s) micellar relaxation kinetics in NaPFO solutions. In contrast, no evidence of any comparable slow (>100 ms) relaxation process was found in our NMR studies. Possible artifacts of stopped-flow experiments are discussed as well as differences between NMR and SAXS detection methods. Upper bounds on the relative weight of a slow relaxation process are given within existing kinetic theories of micellar dissolution.