The study of polymer–surfactant interaction in catanionic surfactant mixtures

Aggregation behavior in mixtures of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), sodiumdodecylsulfate (SDS) and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) in anionic- and cationic-rich regions has been investigated by tensiometry, conductometry and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The size of particles and the inter-micellar interaction parameter in SDS/CTAB/PEG system were studied by CV. CV measurements show that the number of micelles decreased, since the inter-micellar interaction coefficient (kd) decreased with an increase in polymer concentration and enhanced binding of surfactant monomers to the PEG. Also, on the basis of CMC, Δ G agg 0 , Δ H agg 0 and Δ S agg 0 , the dependence of the compensation temperature on the polymer effect is discussed.