SOLUBILIZATION OF NONPOLAR COMPOUNDS BY NONIONIC SURFACTANT MICELLES

The distribution of non-polar hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) between various surfactant micellar pseudophases and water is examined. Experimental measurements have been made with nine non-ionic surfactants and one anionic surfactant with hexachlorobenzene. These distributions have been quantified with micelle-water partition coefficients, K-m(M(-1)), which are calculated utilizing the chemical's solubility in distilled water. With this data and information previously published on other HOCs and surfactants, a simple semi-empirical equation was constructed that relates micelle-water partition coefficients, K-m, to octanol-water partition coefficients, K-ow, and surfactant structural properties. Only two parameters in the final equation define surfactant structural characteristics. A rationale of the final model construct is presented.