Interfacial and self-aggregation of binary mixtures of anionic and nonionic amphiphiles in aqueous medium

Interfacial and bulk properties of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween-80), and their binary mixtures in aqueous medium have been investigated using surface tension, conductance, and fluorescence measurements at different temperatures. The critical micelle concentration (CMC), counterion binding, polarity index, aggregation number, thermodynamics of interfacial adsorption, and micellization are evaluated. The entropic contribution is found to be the predominant factor in micelle formation. The aggregation number and the polarity index of the micelle interior estimated by the pyrene fluorescence technique show interesting temperature dependence. The size and composition of the mixed micelles vary with the total concentration. The micellar compositions, activities of the individual components in the mixed species, and intersurfactant interactions are also estimated following regular solution theory, excess thermodynamic functions, and a molecular thermodynamic model. The surfactant mixtures are found to be nonideal with a lower degree of counterion binding compared to the individual members. Mixed micelles are nonspherical in nature at all temperatures when the mole fraction (α) of the ionic part in mixtures is high but transform to spherical when α(SDS) is ≤0.50.