Conductivity study of DTAB in water and ethanol-water mixture in the presence and absence of ZnSO4

Abstract

The physicochemical behaviour of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) in water and ethanol-water mixture in the presence and absence of ZnSO4 were studied by measuring the conductivity at 298.15 K. The pre-micellar (S1) and post-micellar slopes (S2) were obtained and calculated the degree of dissociation (α) and the critical micelle concentration (cmc). With an increase in ethanol content, the cmc and α of DTAB increased whereas, in the presence of ZnSO4, the cmc and α decreased. By using cmc and α, thermodynamic properties as the standard free energy of micellization (δGmo) were evaluated. With an increase in ethanol content, the negative values of δGmo are decreased indicating less spontaneous in the micellization which makes micellization less favourable. The correlation of the pre-micellar and post-micellar slopes with the volume fraction of ethanol were discussed. DTAB micellization was tested in contexts of specific solvent parameters and solvophobic parameter.