Introduction ;- As mentioned earlier the process of micellization is one of most important characteristics of surfactant solution and hence it is essential to understand its mechanism (the driving force for micelle formation ). The requires analysis of both the kinetic and the equilibrium aspects of the processes.
FORMULA H= T S # Gibbs Free Energy of Micellization ;-
Phase Separation Models Consider an anionic surfactant in which n surfactant anions S- ,and n counter ions M+ associate ton form a micelle, i.e., nS - + nM + Sn The micelle is simply a charged aggregate of surfactant ions plus an equivalent number of counter ions in the surrounding atmosphere and is treated as a separate phase .
Mass Action Models;- This model assumes dissociation –association equilibrium between surfactant monomers and micelles - thus equilibrium constant can be calculated .
Solubilization ;- @ Micelle can be used to increase the solubility of material that are normally insoluble or poorly soluble in dispersed medium phenomenon called as solubilization . @ Importance @ Hydrophilic drugs can be adsorbed on the surface of in micelle .
Micro Emulsion;- $ The microemulsion concept was introduced as early as 1940s by Hoor & Schulman who generated a clear single-phase solution by titrating a milky emulsion with hexanol . $ Schulman and co-worker (1959) subsequently coined the term microemulsion . $ Microemulsion are thermodynamically stable, optically transparent isotropic mixtures of a biphasic o/w system stabilized with surfactants . $ The diameter of droplets in microemulsion may be in the range of 100A to 1000A.
Reverse Micelles;- A reverse micelle is a micelle in which the nonpolar and polar phases havereversed roles and the orientation of surfactant molecules are inverted so that the head groups point into the enclosed volume containing the polar phase. In simple it is formed when an array of solutions are added to water. The molecules can either be a phospholipid or fatty acids. In a micelle, ionic heads form an outer shell in contact with water, while nonpolar tails are sequestered in within