Determination of Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of Surfactants by a Nuclear Track Microfilter

A new application of nuclear track microfilters has been demonstrated by determining the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants. The lowering of CMC due to the addition of methyl red dye in Trition X-100 surfactant (in molar ratio of 1:100) has also been studied. The critical micelle concentrations of cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and polyoxyethylene (9.5) octylphenol (Triton X-100) surfactants are determined using polycarbonate nuclear track microfilters and these are found to be comparable with the literature values. The experimental method is described here and the results are discussed.