Bulk Properties of Carboxymethylchitosan and Cationic Surfactant Mixtures: Fluorescence and Surface Tension Studies

Abstract

The interactions between carboxymethylchitosan and alkyltrimethylammoniumbromides were studied in aqueous solution. The dependences of aggregation behavior on surfactant concentration, polyelectrolyte concentration, as well as surfactant chain length were investigated mainly using fluorescence spectroscopy method. The variation of I ₁/I ₃ of pyrene fully characterized the aggregation behavior of the polymer-surfactant complex. Meanwhile, based on that Nile red has the sensitivity to the environmental polarity different to pyrene, the changes of aggregates size and number can be reflected by the fluorescence spectroscopy of Nile red.

Keywords:

• Carboxymethylchitosan
• fluorescence spectroscopy method
• polyelectrolyte-surfactant interactions

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21203031), Professional Foundation of Fujian provinces (JA12035) and Professional Foundations of Fuzhou University (XRC-0918, 2011-XQ-07 and 2012-XQ-9).