The aggregation of different anionic surfactants in dilute aqueous solutions of (hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC) under moderate ionic strength (NaCl 0.1 mol L-1) was studied. The surfactants were sodium cholate (CS), sodium deoxycholate (DC) and sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS). By fluorescence probing, the critical aggregate concentration (C1) decreased for SDS and DC in comparison to the critical micelle concentration (CMC) whereas it increased for CS at 298 K. The relative viscosity reached a maximum for SDS/HPC but remained constant for CS/HPC and DC/HPC. By light scattering, cloud points were verified to increase. By dynamic light scattering, it was concluded that, at low surfactant contents, the fast mode of HPC is related to surfactant/HPC aggregates and shorter HPC chains; at high contents, to free micelles. The slow mode is linked to interchain polymer-surfactant complexes and HPC clusters. For the bile salts/ HPC systems, the mechanism of aggregation may occur in two steps.
bile salt; cholate; anionic surfactant; (hydroxypropyl)cellulose; light scattering
