The Distribution of Higher Alcohols in Aqueous Micellar Solutions

The distribution coefficients, K, for 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, and 1-heptanol between the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micellar and aqueous phases were measured directly, with the gas chromatographic technique was used to measure the vapor pressure of the alcohols. The standard free energy change of penetration, ΔGp°, of the alcohol from the aqueous to the micellar phase was obtained using the equation: ΔGp°=−RTlnK. There is a linear relation between ΔGp° and the carbon number of the alcohol.