THIKAMENI MUNENGUNI

221057269

EXPERIMENT 1: DETERMINATION OF THE CMC OF THE SURFACTANT C16TAB

AIM
The aim of this experiment is to determine the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of C16 TAB
(Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide) by measuring the change in conductivity with varying
concentrations of the surfactant solution.

INTRODUCTION
Surfactants (tensides) are organic substances, which significantly decrease the surface tension
of water at relatively low concentrations and are, at least partially, water soluble. Because
surfactants are adsorbed mainly on the surface of the solution, creating a thin mono layer, they
are called surface active substances. When dissolving them, after they reach a certain value
of concentration, molecules or ions of surfactant begin to associate and to organize
themselves into more complex units, called micelles. The characteristic concentration value,
where the association process begins, is called the critical micelle concentration and it is
labeled with symbol c or abbreviation CMC. In this experiment CMC of C16 TAB will be determined by
measuring the change in conductivity with varying concentrations of the surfactant solution.

RESULTS AND DATA

Table 1 Measred values of the conductivity of solution 1,2 and 3
CONDUCTIVITY (

Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3

Volume G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6
(��3 )

20 124.1 126.4 104.2 104.5 73.5 83.9

22 119.2 122.3 99.7 101.5 68.8 77.9

24 115.1 118.7 94.6 96.6 63.9 72.9

26 111.9 114.9 88.4 89.7 59.9 67.7

28 108.8 111.9 83.5 84.7 56.7 62.6

30 106.0 109.5 78.4 80.2 53.5 59.5

32 103.8 107.1 74.4 74.6 51.0 56.5

34 101.6 104.7 70.5 71.1 48.7 54.0

36 99.0 102.3 67.4 67.9 46.5 51.6

38 95.9 99.3 64.5 64.6 44.8 49.5

40 91.7 96.4 61.8 61.6 42.9 47.5

42 87.9 93.1 59.5 59.1 41.3 45.8

44 84.4 90.0 57.3 56.9 39.9 44.2

46 80.9 86.9 54.6 54.9 38.6 42.7

SOLUTION 1
Table 2 Calculated values for the determination of CMC of solution 1
Volume CONDUCTIVITY CONCETRATION Converted �(��� �−3MOLAR
)
(��3 ) (Ƙ)(S/m) concetration CODUCTIVITY
(mol dm^-3)
(mol m^3) (Sm^2 mol^1)

20 0.012525 0.00184 1.84 1.3565 0.006807065

22 0.012075 0.00167 1.67 1.2923 0.007230539

24 0.01169 0.00153 1.53 1.2370 0.007640523

26 0.01134 0.00141 1.41 1.1874 0.008042553

28 0.011035 0.00131 1.31 1.1446 0.008423664

30 0.010776 0.00122 1.22 1.1045 0.008832787

32 0.010545 0.00114 1.14 1.0677 0.00925

34 0.010315 0.00107 1.07 1.0344 0.009640187

36 0.010065 0.00101 1.01 1.0050 0.009965347

38 0.00976 0.00096 0.96 0.97980 0.010166667

40 0.009405 0.00091 0.91 0.95394 0.010335165

42 0.00905 0.00087 0.87 0.93274 0.010402299

44 0.00872 0.00083 0.83 0.91104 0.010506024

46 0.00839 0.00079 0.79 0.88882 0.010620253

EXAMPLE OF THE CALCULATONS

Solution 1
1.

C2 =
= moldm-3
SOLUTION 2
C1V1=C2V2
(1.84×10−3 ×60
C2= 100
=1.104 × 10−3

SOLUTION 3
C1V1=C2V2
1.104×10−3 ×60
C2= 100
=6.624 × 10−4

Molar conductivity
c = 1.840 moldm-3 = = = 1.84 molm-3

conductivity = 124.1 µS = 124.1 = S m-1

Λ= = = 0.000124 m2 S mol-1

= = 1.35647

SOLUTION 2
Table 3 Calculated values of the determination of CMC of solution 2
Volume CONDUCTIVITY CONCETRATION CONVERTED �(��� �−3 ) MOLAR
(��3 ) (Ƙ)(S/m) CONDUCTIVITY
(mol dm^-3) CONCETRATION
(Sm^2 mol^1)
(mol m^3)

20 0.010435 0.001104 1.104 1.050714043 0.009451993

22 0.01006 0.001004 1.004 1.001998004 0.01001992

24 0.00956 0.00092 0.92 0.959166305 0.010391304

26 0.008905 0.000849 0.849 0.92141196 0.01048881

28 0.00841 0.000789 0.789 0.88825672 0.010659062

30 0.00793 0.000736 0.736 0.857904424 0.010774457

32 0.00745 0.00069 0.69 0.830662386 0.010797101

34 0.00708 0.000649 0.649 0.805605362 0.010909091

36 0.006765 0.000613 0.613 0.782943165 0.011035889

38 0.006455 0.000581 0.581 0.76223356 0.011110155

40 0.00617 0.000552 0.552 0.742967025 0.011177536

42 0.00593 0.000526 0.526 0.725258575 0.011273764

44 0.00571 0.000502 0.502 0.708519583 0.011374502

46 0.005475 0.00048 0.48 0.692820323 0.01140625

SOLUTION 3
Table 4 Calculated values of the determination of the CMC of solution 3
Volume CONDUCTIVITY CONCETRATION Converted �(��� �−3 ) MOLAR
(��3 ) (Ƙ)(S/m) CONDUCTIVITY
(mol dm^-3) Concetration
(Sm^2 mol^1)
(mol m^3)

20 0.00787 0.000662 0.662 0.813633824 0.011888218

22 0.007335 0.000602 0.602 0.77588659 0.012184385

24 0.00684 0.000552 0.552 0.742967025 0.012391304

26 0.00638 0.00051 0.51 0.714142843 0.012509804

28 0.005965 0.0000473 0.0473 0.217485632 0.126109937

30 0.00565 0.000442 0.442 0.664830806 0.012782805

32 0.005375 0.000414 0.414 0.643428318 0.012983092

34 0.005135 0.00039 0.39 0.6244998 0.013166667

36 0.004905 0.000368 0.368 0.606630036 0.013328804

38 0.004715 0.000349 0.349 0.59076222 0.013510029

40 0.00452 0.000331 0.331 0.575325995 0.013655589

42 0.004355 0.000315 0.315 0.561248608 0.013825397

44 0.004205 0.000301 0.301 0.548634669 0.0139701

46 0.004065 0.000288 0.288 0.536656315 0.014114583

Figure 1 Graph of conductIvity against concentration

Figure 2 Graph of moLar conductivity against the square root of concentration

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

4. The critical micelle concentration is the concentration at which micelles start to form in a solution.
Chain length affects CMC in surfactants, longer chains typically lead to lower CMC due to stronger
hydrophobic interactions, Addition od salt decreases the CMC of ionic surfactants because it has a
tendency to screen the electrostatic repulsion at the surface of the micelle.

5. There is a direct proportionality between the molar conductivity ans concentration in figure 2, and
is above and below the CMC this means that the surfactant behave as 1:1 electrolte with a complete
dissociation below the CMC.

The experiment successful determined the CMC of C16TAB using the conductivity method. The Critical
Micelle Concentration (CMC) of C16TAB was determined to be 0.001 mol dm-3 in figure 1 and 0.95 mol
dm-3 in figure 2. The obtained values agree with literature values, confirming the accuracy of the
experiment.
References
KRUSS. (2022, SEPTEMBER 19). CMC. Retrieved from CONDUCTIVITY/CONCENTRATION:
https://www.kruss-scientific.com/en/know-how/glossary/critical-micelle-concentration-cmc-
and-surfactant-concentration

Postdam, U. o. (2023, AUGUST 7). Conductometry. Retrieved from MICELLE FORMATION:

https://www.chem.uni-potsdam.de/groups/kolloid/3_lehre/mops/e06_con.pdf

pub.rsc.org. (2023, JULY 3). Surface active agents. Retrieved from SURFACTANTS:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sm/d2sm01320g