Ionic quenching of naphthalene fluorescence in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles

Micellar effects on luminescense of organic compounds or probes are well established, and here we show that quenching is highly favored in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles, which concentrate a naphthalene probe and cations of lanthanides, transition metals, and noble metals. Interactions have been studied by steady state and time-resolved fluorescence in examining the fluorescence suppression of naphthalene by metal ions in anionic SDS micelles. The quenching is collisional and correlated with the unit charge and the reduction potential of the metal ion. The rate constants, calculated in terms of local metal ion concentrations, are close to the diffusion control limit in the interior of SDS micelles, where the microscopic viscosity decreases the transfer rate, following the Stokes-Einstein relation.