Mixed micelles of series of monomeric and dimeric cationic, zwitterionic, and unequal twin-tail cationic surfactants with sugar surfactants: a fluorescence study.

Steady state fluorescence measurements have been carried out for binary mixtures of a series of monomeric cationic (MC), zwitterionic (ZI), dimeric cationic (DC), and twin-tail cationic (TC) surfactants with sugar (beta-C8G and beta-C12G) over the whole mole fraction range using pyrene as fluorescence probe. The cmc values thus determined for all the binary mixtures have been further evaluated using the regular solution theory. The various micellar parameters, such as micelle mole fraction (X1), regular solution interaction parameter (beta), micropolarity, and mean micelle aggregation number (Nagg), have been determined for all these series of mixtures. Variation in all these micellar parameters demonstrates that mixed micelles of these surfactants with beta-C8G are mostly synergistic in nature and the synergism increases with the increase in hydrophobicity of the cosurfactant in each case. The mixtures of beta-C12G with various cosurfactants do not show this behavior and instead of it, they show an increase in antagonism with the increase in hydrophobicity of cosurfactants. This discrepancy has been attributed to a large difference in hydrophobicity between beta-C8G and beta-C12G, and the chain folding of the latter is considered to be the reason for the antagonism.