Test of Hofmeister-like series of anionic headgroups: clouding and micellar growth

Phenomenon of clouding in charged micellar solutions is a fairly recent addition to conventional phenomenon shown by aqueous nonionic micelles. In this paper, we have tested a Hofmeister-like ordering of charged headgroups in the context of cloud point (CP) and micellar growth. For this purpose, we have used various combinations of surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS; sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, SDBS; sodium salts of α-sulfonato myristic acid methyl ester, MES; and α-sulfonato palmitic acid methyl ester, PES) and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB). Different surfactant concentrations and TBAB concentrations are used and CP measurements have been performed. CP values were found in the order SDBS < SDS < PES < MES for the same concentration of surfactant and TBAB. This order has been discussed in the light of water affinities of interacting ionic species (i.e., surfactant headgroup and TBA⁺ counterion). The ordering was found similar for the case of micellar growth studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS). A bimodal distribution of aggregate size was found that transforms to giant aggregates at CP. The micelles of roughly 10-nm size convert to aggregates of 1 μm. The study has a few novelties: (1) headgroup dependence of CP, (2) micellar growth on heating, and (3) confirmation of Hofmeister-like series of headgroup.