Solvent reorganization energy and free energy change for donor/acceptor electron transfer at micelle surfaces: Theory and experiment

Theories are presented for calculating the solvent reorganization energy and the free energy change which occur in photoinduced donor/acceptor electron transfer at the surface of micelles. The theories are based on the Marcus theory for spherical reactants in a dielectric continuum. The micelle is modeled with regions of differing dielectric properties, representing the micelle core, the headgroup region, and the surrounding water. The free energy change accompanying electron transfer can be calculated from redox measurements made in bulk liquids. The theories are applied to previously published photoinduced intermolecular electron-transfer data between octadecylrhodamine B (ODRB) and N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) molecules.(1) The ODRB and DMA molecules are located in the surface region of three different types of surfactant micelles: dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, and cetyl-trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB, TTAB, and CTAB, respectively). The data show an increased rate of electron transfer with increasing micelle radius. Application of the new theory to the electron-transfer data along with information provided by neutron scattering experiments show that the headgroup regions of the three micelles have different dielectric constants because water penetration into the headgroup regions decreases as the surfactant length increases.