Estimation of critical micellar concentration through ultrasonic velocity measurements

A technique based on ultrasound propagation velocity measurements has been developed to investigate surfactant's behavior in aqueous solutions. Applications to the estimation of the critical micellar concentration of two emulsifiers, sodium dodecyl sulfate and dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid sodium salt, and a mixture of them are discussed. A simple model was developed to interpret the experimental ultrasound propagation velocity measurements. The model provides a theoretical foundation to the experimental results as well as a valuable tool for smoothing out the disturbances affecting the experimental data.