Salt Effects on the Critical Micelle Concentration and Counterion Binding of Cetylpyridinium Bromide Micelles

Salt Effects on the Critical Micelle Concentration and Counterion Binding of Cetylpyridinium Bromide Micelles

The effects of electrolyte on the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and bromide counterion binding in the micelles of cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) have been investigated by UV spectroscopy and conductance measurements. Salts used in this study decreased cmc in the order $Cl^-\;<\;Br^-\;<\;NO3^-$ (which parallels the lyotropic series for the inorganic anions) and the effects on cmc followed the equation proposed by Shinoda: log cmc = A - B log (cmc + [NaX]). In the equation, constant B represents the counterion binding to the micelles at cmc and for the micelle of CPB at $25^{\circ}C$, B=80.76%. The association constant for the binding of counterions to long chain cations within micelles was also derived from the cmc values and counterion binding constant to the micelles.