Hydrogen bonding of alcohols with AOT in carbon tetrachloride: an infrared study

Abstract

The interaction of the inverted micelles of AOT (sodium di(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate) with different alcohols due to hydrogen bonding has been studied by means of infrared spectroscopy. Spectra of solutions of the alcohols with increasing concentrations of AOT showed a decrease in the intensity of the free OH stretching band. At the same time a new OH band due to a H-bonded alcohol-inverted micelle complex appears and its intensity increases as the intensity of the free band decreases. Calculated values of the equilibrium constants for the formation of the complexes n-alcohol–AOT, showed a decrease in alcohol–AOT association with the increase of the length of the aliphatic chains in the n-alcohols. Surprisingly, cholesterol behaved like a short chain while other cyclic alcohols like long chain alcohols.