Solubilization of Styrene and Acrylamide Monomers in Microemulsions

Abstract

Phase diagrams of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (DS)/n‐butanol/styrene/water systems with variable amounts of styrene were constructed at 40°C, and the effects of styrene on microemulsion stability were studied. The solubilization of styrene in these O/W microemulsion systems was investigated by ¹H NMR methods. The results show that the solubilization site shifts from the palisade layer to the inner core of microemulsion droplets when the molar fraction of styrene reaches 0.312. The solubilization of acrylamide in cetyltrimethylmethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water reverse microemulsions (W/O) was studied with a ¹³C NMR method. It was found that the acrylamide was mainly solubilized in the Stern layer of droplets at low acrylamide levels. However, when the mole fraction of acrylamide approaches 0.428, the acrylamide penetrates into the palisade layer and is distributed along the hydrocarbon chain of the surfactant.

Keywords:

• ¹H NMR
• ¹³C NMR
• Microemulsion solubilization
• Monomer
• Conductivity

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Project No. 29973023) and the Chinese Committee of Education (Project No. 00195).