Surfactant micelles as a possible template for radical polymerization: evaluation using ESR spectroscopy

The results of studying the interaction of iogenic surfactant micelles with oppositely charged monomers using spin probe ESR spectroscopy were generalized to assess a possibility of using surfactant micelles as a template for radical polymerization. The electrostatic interaction of monomer ions with the studied surfactants was shown to lead to a decrease in the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant. The chemical nature of the monomer exerts a significant effect on its localization on the micelles. Quaternary salts of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate are sorbed on the micelle surface, and high concentrations of the components do not prevent the interaction and, therefore, the polymerization of these monomers on the surfactant micelles via the template mechanism is possible. The optimum monomer/surfactant ratios for the implementation of the template mechanism of polymerization were determined. The template character of the polymerization of quaternary salts of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate under these conditions was confirmed by light scattering data. The interaction of an anionic hydrophobic monomer, sodium styrenesulfonate, with dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide leads to the incorporation of the monomer ions into the surfactant micelles, which can prevent its polymerization via the template mechanism.