Miscibility of sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the adsorbed film and aggregate

The adsorption, micelle formation, and salting out of sodium dodecyl sulfate in the presence of sodium chloride were studied from the viewpoint of their mixed adsorption and aggregate formation. The surface tension of aqueous solutions of a sodium chloride–sodium dodecyl sulfate mixture was measured as a function of the total molality and composition of the mixture. Phase diagrams of adsorption and aggregate formation were obtained by applying thermodynamic equations to the surface tension. Judging from the phase diagrams, sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate are miscible in the adsorbed film at very large composition of sodium chloride and in the salted-out crystalline particle, while they are immiscible in the micelle. The miscibilities in the adsorbed film, micelle, and crystalline particle increase in the following order: particle > adsorbed film > micelle. The difference in miscibility among the oriented states was ascribed to the difference in geometry between the adsorbed film and micelle and to the interaction between bilayer surfaces in the particle.