ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTIONS IN A SOLUTION OF LINEAR MICELLES

The interaction between charged linear micelles is taken into account via the first-order end contribution to the second virial coefficient. An asymptotic analysis of this term is given for finite lines in the Debye-Hückel approximation. The effective diameter introduced for infinite line charges also determines end effects to leading order. The size of linear micelles is a function of two ionic-strength dependent effects: one increasing with salt concentration, the other decreasing. There is a possibility of micellar growth with decreasing salt concentration at rather low ionic strength when the excluded-volume term starts to come into effect. © 1990 American Institute of Physics.