Pressure dependence of the critical micelle concentration of a nonionic surfactant in water studied by 1H-NMR

The critical micelle concentration (cmc) of the nonionic surfactant C8E5 in D2O was measured at 30 degrees C and pressures up to 350 MPa using H-1-NMR chemical shifts. The cmc was found to increase with pressure up to approximately 150 MPa and then decrease at higher pressures. This characteristic pressure dependence is similar to that reported for several ionic surfactant solutions and is in quantitative agreement with the effect of pressure on the transfer of hydrocarbons from water into nonpolar solvents. We conclude, therefore, that the observed behavior is independent of the hydrophilic headgroup of the surfactant and that it reflects a pressure-induced destabilization of the hydrophobic micelle interior at low pressures and enhanced stabilization at high pressures.