Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
A Systematic Study of Critical Micelle Concentrations of Surfactants Using β-Diketone Relationships and Green Solvents
Name: Drager,
Advisor: Maria Schiza
Department: CHEM
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: Surfactants are molecules with polar and non-polar regions which exhibit a phenomenon called the critical micelle concentration (CMC). At the CMC, the molecules arrange into spherical formations called micelles. Each surfactant exhibits a unique CMC value based on its structure, chemical properties, and interactions with its environment. The CMC is dependent on the temperature and the surrounding solvent. Changing these parameters can affect the amount of surfactant required to form micelles. The aim of this project is to determine the CMCs of different surfactants using novel β-Diketones and green solvent systems. The CMC of a surfactant can be determined using UV-visible spectroscopy and by investigating the equilibria-relationship between the keto and enol tautomer forms of β-Diketones at different surfactant concentrations. The absorbance of the keto and enol tautomers are affected in the presence of micelles. By observing the changes of the absorption of the keto and enol isomers.