We show here the influence of n-alcohols (C2OH-C8OH) on the solubility behavior of cationic-anionic surfactant
mixtures, so-called “catanionics”.Westudied catanionics of different compositions composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate
(SDS)/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecanoate (SDod)/CTAB mixtures. Interestingly,
with a molar excess of SDS, long chain n-alcohols (C4OH-C8OH) significantly depress the solubility temperature of the
SDS+CTAB catanionic and increase the kinetic stability of the solution. The visual observations of solubility
temperatures of catanionics were further confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. For
the catanionics a multistep solubilization was observed by DSC, for which the sulfate headgroup is responsible. This was
probed by replacing SDS by SDod. A remarkable analogy was found between the influence of the alcohols on the
solubility patterns of the catanionic mixtures and on the anesthesia of tadpoles. Possible reasons for this analogy are
discussed also in this paper
