Physico-chemical investigation of the state of cyanamide confined in AOT and lecithin reversed micelles

Sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) and lecithin reversed micelles containing cyanamide have been investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering, FT-IR, and 1H NMR spectroscopy at various cyanamide-to-surfactant molar ratio (X) and at fixed surfactant concentration (0.1 mol kg-1). Experimental data are consistent with a model of cyanamide molecules confined in reversed micelles, quite uniformly distributed among them and mainly located among surfactant headgroups. SAXS data analysis leads also to hypothesize a unidimensional growth of the reversed micelles with increasing the X value. Moreover, the cyanamide state and the cyanamide/cyanamide interactions in reversed micelles have been found to be different from those in pure solid cyanamide attributable to system-specific cyanamide/surfactant headgroup interactions.