Photoinduced electron transfer between donors and acceptors on micelle surfaces

Fluorescence time-dependence and fluorescence yield data are used to examine photoinduced electron transfer between N,N-dimethylaniline and octadecylrhodamine B on the surfaces of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and Triton X-100 micelles. The data are analyzed with a detailed theory that includes diffusion of the chromophores over the micelle surface and models the reaction rate by a distance-dependent Marcus form. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained for reasonable choices of the transfer parameters for DTAB. However, for Triton X-100, there is reasonable agreement between theory and experiment only for values of the parameters that verge on unphysical. Possible explanations are discussed.