A conductivity and cloud point investigation of interaction of cationic and non-ionic surfactants with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose: effect of polyols and urea

Surfactants and polymers are widely used chemicals in different applied fields like pharmaceutical, textile, food, and cosmetic industries. Therefore, the study of surfactant–polymer interaction can improve their activity in related applied fields. Herein, we studied the interaction of polymer, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) with two surfactants. The interaction of SCMC with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, was assessed through conductivity measurement technique, while the interaction between non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100 (TX-100) and SCMC was assessed by cloud point (CP) analysis. The effect of different organic additives (glucose, maltose, and urea) on the micellar behavior of the CTAB + SCMC mixture and phase partitioning behavior of TX-100 + SCMC mixture was investigated. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) of the CTAB + SCMC system having 0.3 mmolkg−1 SCMC was augmented linearly as a function of temperature and concentration of organic additives. The cmc values of CTAB + SCMC system increased from 1.28 to 1.44 mmolkg−1 and 1.18 to 1.33 mmolkg−1 with the increase in concentration from 0.1 to 8.0 mmolkg−1 of glucose and maltose, respectively. The extent of counterion binding (β) was obtained to be temperature-dependent. The CP values of TX-100 + SCMC were experienced to be reduced up to a certain concentration of glucose/maltose and then augment with enhancing the concentration of glucose and maltose, while the CP values increased monotonically with the concentration of urea. The Gibbs free energy values indicate the spontaneous micellization of the CTAB + SCMC system and non-spontaneous phase partitioning of the TX-100 + SCMC system. The enthalpy and entropy change as well as their compensation were studied and explained with proper explanation.