Effects of structure variation on solution properties of hydrotropes: Phenyl versus cyclohexyl chain tips

Marios Hopkins Hatzopoulos, Julian Eastoe*, Peter J. Dowding, Isabelle Grillo, Bruno Demé, Sarah E. Rogers, Richard Heenan, Robert Dyer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The physicochemical behavior of the phenyl-n-alkanoate (PhenCx) and cyclohexyl-n-alkanoate (CyclohexCx) series has been investigated, supporting previous work on the understanding of hydrotropes (Hopkins Hatzopoulos, M.; Eastoe, J.; Dowding, P.J.; Rogers, S. E.; Heenan, R.; Dyer, R. Langmuir2011, 27, 12346-12353). Electrical conductivity, surface tension, 1H NMR, and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) were used to study adsorption and aggregation in terms of critical aggregation concentration (cac). The PhenCx series exhibited very similar d log(cac)/dn to n-alkylbenzoates (CnBenz), exhibiting two branches of behavior, with a common inflection point at four linear carbons, whereas the CyclohexCx series showed no break point. Electrical conductivity and 1H NMR concentration scans indicate a difference in physicochemical behavior between higher and lower homologues in both the PhenCx and CyclohexCx series. Surface tension measurements with compounds belonging to either group gave typical Gibbs adsorption profiles, having d log(cac)/dn curves consistent with limiting headgroup areas in the region of (35-55 Å 2) indicating monolayer formation. SANS profiles showed no evidence for aggregates below the electrical conductivity determined cac values, inferring an "on-off" mode of aggregation. Analyses of SANS profiles was consistent with charged ellipsoidal aggregates, persisting from lower through to higher homologues in both the PhenCx and CyclohexCx series.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9332-9340
Number of pages9
JournalLangmuir
Volume28
Issue number25
Early online date23 May 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jun 2012

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