Surface chemical and micellization behaviours of binary and ternary mixtures of amphiphiles (Triton X-100, Tween-80 and CTAB) in aqueous medium

The solution and interfacial behaviours of binary mixtures of tert-octylphenylpolyoxyethyleneether (Triton X-100 or TX-100) and polyoxyethylenesorbitanmonooleate (Tween-80 or TW-80) and ternary mixtures of TX-100, TW-80 and CTAB (cetyl trimethylammoniumbromide) have been studied in details using conductometric, spectrophotometric, fluorimetric and tensiometric techniques. The dependence of micellization, its energetics, micellar aggregation, counter-ion binding and polarity of mixed amphiphile compositions as well as the interfacial amphiphile adsorption, mixed micellar composition and molecular interaction in mixed micelles have been evaluated. For the understanding of the CMC, composition and molecular interaction of the mixed micelles in the binary combinations of TX-100 and TW-80, the theories and equations of Clint, Motomura and Rubingh have been used. Such exercise on ternary combinations is kept pending for want of a general easy-handling multicomponent theory. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.