Viscosity and surface tension of dilute salicylic acid-cetrimide systems

The viscosity and surface tension of systems containing small amounts of salicylic acid in aqueous solutions of cetrimide were determined. An abrupt increase in viscosity was observed, and the molar ratio of salicylic acid to certrimide at which this viscosity increase occurred was 1:2. The surface tension of these systems also increased sharply after an initial lowering. The salicylic acid concentration at which this behavior was demonstrated was almost the same as that at maximum solubility in the surfactant solution.