Colloidal electrolytes. —Soap solutions and their constitution

Abstract

Colloidal electrolytes are solutions of salts in which one ion has been replaced by a heavily hydrated polyvalent micelle, carrying an equivalent sum total of electrical charges and also serving as an excellent conductor of electricity. This is the conclusion to which our investigations have led us. It will probably prove that this new class includes, under certain conditions, most organic compounds containing more than eight carbon atoms, and capable of forming ions, also solutions of the acid and alkali proteins, dyes, indicators, sulphonates, soaps, and possibly even of such compounds as chromium chloride, and of the alkaline tungstates, zincates, tellurates, and silicates. Many non-aqueous solutions may also be included in the same category, as will be shown in a later communication, and it is indeed probable that the class includes as many members as the acids and bases together.