Effect of the nature of the counterion on the interaction between cesium and tetraalkylammonium dodecylsulfates and poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(vinylpyrolidone)

The interaction between poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and cesium and tetraalkylammonium (tetramethyl to tetrabutyl ammonium) dodecylsulfate has been investigated by means of electrical conductivity measurements to determine the critical aggregation concentration (cac) of the surfactants in the presence of polymer. The cac values were compared to the values of the critical micellization concentration (cmc) of the surfactants in the absence of polymer. The value of the cac/cmc ratio increased with the radius of the counterion in the sequence: Na+