Micellar Encapsulation of Some Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Glucose Derived Non-Ionic Gemini Surfactants in Aqueous Medium

Abstract

Abstract Novel glucose-based non-ionic gemini surfactants consisting of two sugar head groups, two hydrophobic tails having chain length of C8, C10, C12, C14, C16, C18 and –CH2-C6H4-CH2– as a rigid spacer were synthesized and investigated for their micellar encapsulation properties. The head groups of the geminis consist of glucose entities (with reducing function blocked in cyclic acetal group) connected through C-6 to tertiary amines. These surfactants were explored for micellar encapsulation of some polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) viz. fluorene, anthracene, triptycene and pyrene in 20% ethanol–water mixture. Micellar studies revealed that PAHs were encapsulated in the sequence fluorene > anthracene > triptycene > pyrene and the better efficiency of gemini surfactant was dependent on longer alkyl tail but lesser HLB value.