Experimental study and molecular simulation on aggregation behavior of surface-active ionic liquids containing saturated nitrogen heterocycles in aqueous solution

The aggregation behavior of N-decyl-N-methylmorpholinium bromide (DMMB) in aqueous solutions was systematically investigated by experimental measurements and molecular simulation, including surface tension, electrical conductivity, fluorescence measurement, ¹H NMR and dissipative particle dynamic (DPD) simulation. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) of DMMB which was obtained by different techniques showed a pretty good agreement. From the surface tension measurements, a series of surface adsorption properties such as surface tension at the cmc (γ_cmc), effectiveness of surface tension reduction (∏_cmc), maximum surface excess concentration (Γ_max), minimum surface area per molecule (A_min), were determined. The cmc values and a variety of thermodynamic parameters (, and ) of micellization in the temperature range of 25–45°C were obtained via electrical conductivity experiments. In the investigated temperature range, the thermodynamic parameters reveal that micelle formation is entropy-driven. Furthermore, micelle aggregation number (N_agg) of DMMB was calculated through the fluorescence measurement. Analysis of the ¹H NMR spectrum indicates the micelle formation mechanism. The DPD simulation reflects the process of micro-phase separation. From the simulation results, at concentrations higher than cmc, spherical micelles can be formed. The investigation of DMMB micelles may help us gain a better understanding about surfactant micellization process and expand the range of potential application in materials science.