Exploration of diverse interactions of nonionic poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and anionic sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) polymers in aqueous imidazolium-based surface active ionic liquid solutions

The binding interactions in complex formation between surface active ionic liquids (SAILs) and polymers (nonionic or anionic) are gaining attention because of their potential applications in novel materials. Therefore, the use of a variety of measurements is required for a better understanding of the interactions involved in polymer/SAIL formation. Here, we have investigated the interactions of nonionic poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and anionic sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) polymers with SAIL 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C₁₄mim][Cl] in aqueous solution using different measurements such as conductivity, surface tension, fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and rheometric measurements. The surface tension, conductivity and fluorescence profiles for SAIL-NaCMC systems provide distinct breakpoints that correspond to four different aggregation states: the concentration at which SAIL monomers begin to attach to the polymer chain (C₁), the critical aggregation concentration C₂ (cac), the saturation concentration (C_S) and the critical micelle concentration (cmc). In the case of SAIL-PVP systems, the surface tension and fluorescence profiles confer three transition states: C₂ (cac), C_S and cmc and only two transition states have been observed in conductivity curves. The cooperative binding of SAIL to the NaCMC/PVP chain at the solution interface was analyzed by calculating various thermodynamic and interfacial parameters. Strong complexation was observed between NaCMC-SAIL molecules compared to PVP-SAIL systems at the air-solution surface. This is due to the non-ionic character of the PVP chain, which shows weak interactions with SAIL in comparison to NaCMC. Furthermore, DLS and fluorescence measurements were used to investigate the interactions between SAIL and polymers.