Enhanced Solubilisation of Insecticide Phosalone by Using Anionic and Cationic Surfactants in Aqueous Solution by Micellisation

The objective of this study is to enhance the solubility of the insecticide phosalone in aqueous solution through micellisation. The cationic cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) and the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants were used. The study employs a conductometric methodology to examine the interactions between the insecticide and the surfactant. The critical micellar concentration (CMC) and degree of counterions dissociation (α) of the surfactants were obtained at varying concentrations (0 to 3 µM) of the insecticide phosalone and temperatures between 301.15 and 321.15 K. In all cases, both parameters (CMC and α) demonstrated a decline in line with the increase in insecticide concentration and temperature. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated using the CMC versus temperature data. A positive value of ΔH° indicates that the micellisation process is endothermic. The negative values of ΔG° as a function of insecticide concentration and temperature demonstrate that the micellisation process is thermodynamically favorable and that the insecticide solubilises in the micelle core. The results of this study demonstrate that it is possible to solubilise a poorly soluble organic molecule by micellisation using conductivity alone, which is a valuable finding.