Structure of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Bound to a Poly(NIPAM) Microgel Particle

Dynamic light scattering, small-angle neutron scattering, and binding isotherm measurements have been performed on an aqueous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgel particle in the presence of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). In the presence of the microgel, at concentrations just above the normal cmc the surfactant existed as small, polymer-bound aggregates of less than five monomer units rather than larger micelles. This is in stark …