Interaction between cationic monomer and sodium dodecyl sulfate in concentrated aqueous solutions: EPR spectroscopy and rotational viscometry

The interaction of a cationic monomer, trimethyl[methacryloxyethyl]ammonium methyl sulfate, with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been studied in relatively concentrated solutions containing SDS (70–500 mM) and the monomer (from 7 mM to 2.5 M). The high concentrations of the components do not prevent the monomer from bonding to oppositely charged SDSs, which confirms the possibility in principle to polymerize ionic monomers through a template mechanism using micelles of oppositely charged surfactants as templates. The range of component ratios 0.5 ≤ [monomer]/[SDS] ≤ 2 is most promising for realization of the template mechanism of polymerization. The effect of SDS on the macroscopic and microscopic properties of the system significantly and to a maximum extent decreases upon a further rise in the relative concentration of the monomer.