Shear-induced microstructure and rheology of cetylpyridinium chloride/sodium salicylate micellar solutions

Abstract

In this article, we considered shear-induced microstructure and rheological behavior of micellar solutions of cationic surfactant, cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in the presence of a structure-forming additive, sodium salicylate (NaSal). Shear viscosity, shear moduli and flow birefringence were measured as functions of the surfactant and additive concentrations. In the presence of NaSal, the micellar solution exhibited the non-linear rheological behavior due to the formation of supramolecular structures when the molar ratio of NaSal to CPC exceeded a certain threshold value. Flow birefringence probed the change in micelle alignment under shear flow. At low shear rates, the flow birefringence increased as the shear rate increased. On the other hand, fluctuation of flow birefringence appeared from the shear rate near the onset of shear thickening, which was caused by shear-induced coagulation of aggregation. These results were confirmed by the SEM images of in situ gelified micelle structure through sol-gel route.