Interactions of cellulose-based comb polyelectrolyte with oppositely charged surfactant dodecyl-trimethylammonium bromide

A comb ethyl cellulose-g-sodium polyacrylate (EC-g-SPA) was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. The amphiphilic properties of the EC-g-SPA were determined by surface tension measurements. The interactions between EC-g-SPA and the cationic surfactant dodecyl-trimethylammonium bromide (C12TAB) were investigated by surface tension, turbidity, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that the critical aggregate concentration (CAC) of the complexes was 0.8 mM. When the C12TAB concentration was lower than the CAC, the hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of the complexes decreased as the surfactant concentration was increased. As the C12TAB concentration was increased above the CAC, the Dh initially increased slightly, followed by a sharp decrease. The changes in the sizes and shapes of the aggregates were studied by TEM. The interactions between two species and the structure of the EC-g-SPA/C12TAB complexes were also discussed.