Aggregation of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate: Weak molecular interactions modulated by imidazolium cation of short alkyl chain length

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) can modify cooperative process in aqueous solutions to a large extent, including anionic surfactant aggregation. Here, the micellization of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) was evaluated in low concentrations of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (CnmimCl, n = 0, 2, and 4) aqueous solutions through fluorescence spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, dynamic light scattering, and conductometry. The thermodynamic stability of SDBS aggregates strongly depended on the IL structure and concentration, following the order C4mim+ > C0mim+ ≈ C2mim+. At 1.0 mmol L−1 of the ILs, the increase of the hydrophobicity of the imidazolium cation decreased the enthalpic favorableness, changing from −3.75 ± 0.07 kJ mol−1, for C0mim+, to −2.69 ± 0.01 kJ mol−1, for C4mim+. On the other hand, the entropic feasibility showed an opposite trend, i.e., the higher hydrophobicity of C4mim+ overcame the kosmotropic effect of IL cations in the bulks. We suggested that the imidazolium cations interact with the SDBS monomers on the micellar surface, mainly through hydrophobic, π-π, and electrostatic interactions for C4mim+ and C2mim+, and through electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds for C0mim+.