The chemomechanical behavior of a cross-linked poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) gel in the presence of N-alkylpyridinium chlorides with different chain lengths (C(n)PyCl, n=4, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18) has been investigated. It was found that C(10)PyCl exhibits the greatest and quickest chemomechanical motion under de current, while C(8)PyCl induced practically no movement under the same conditions. Thus, the size of the alkyl chain of the surfactant is crucial to the total chemomechanical behavior of the gel. The role of alkyl chain size was explained in terms of cooperative hydrophobic interactions.