A numerical description of micellization and relaxation to an aggregate equilibrium in surfactant solution with nonionic spherical micelles has been developed on the basis of a discrete form of the Becker–Döring kinetic equations. Two different models for the monomer-aggregate attachment-detachment rates have been used, and it has been shown that the results are qualitatively the same. The full discrete spectrum of characteristic times of micellar relaxation and first relaxation modes in their dependence on equilibrium monomer concentration have been found with using the linearized form of the Becker–Döring kinetic equations. Overall time behavior of surfactant monomer and aggregate concentrations in micellization and relaxation at large initial deviations from final equilibrium has been studied with the help of nonlinearized discrete Becker–Döring kinetic equations. Comparison of the computed results with the analytical ones known in the limiting cases from solutions of the linearized and nonlinearized continu
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)044902_1-11
JournalJournal of Chemical Physics
Volume137
Issue number4
StatePublished - 2012

    Research areas

  • micellization kinetics relaxation surfactant

ID: 5333335