Diffusion measurements on surfactants present a problem because an individual surfactant molecule exchanges from freely dispersed in solution into the sphere or rod very quickly. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) diffusion measurements give the average speed of exchange between the surfactant molecules being freely dispersed in solution and in the spherical micelle structure. Micellar structure is dynamic, meaning that the exchange between the micelle and bulk solution is faster than the NMR and CV timescale. This is where a hydrophobic “probe” molecule comes in handy. A probe molecule can be incorporated into the micelle, and in theory the probe molecule stays completely contained in the hydrophobic environment inside the micelle, which allows the diffusion of the micelle itself to be recorded. Three different probe molecules were studied: ferrocene, hexylferrocenyl alcohol, and decylferrocenyl alcohol. The diffusion of each probe in varying concentrations of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide was measured by both NMR and CV. Diffusion measurements obtained for the three different probe molecules in DTAB will be taken using both NMR and cyclic voltammetry. The goal is to find the ideal ferrocene-based probe molecule to measure diffusion by both NMR and CV as well as compare the diffusion values measured by each instrument.

Diffusion of ferrocene-based probes by NMR and cyclic voltammetry

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.