Effect of electrostatic interaction on the location of a solubilized molecular probe with ionic character in a
supramolecular assembly composed of a triblock copolymer, P123 ((ethylene
oxide)20-(propylene oxide)70-(ethylene
oxide)20) and a cosurfactant cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in aqueous medium
has been studied using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. Coumarin-343 dye in its
anionic form has been used as the molecular probe. In the absence of the surfactant, CTAC, the probe C343
prefers to reside at the surface region of the P123 micelle, showing a relatively less dynamic Stokes’ shift,
as a large part of the Stokes’ shift is missed in the present measurements due to faster solvent relaxation at
micellar surface region. As the concentration of CTAC is increased in the solution, the percentage of the total
dynamic Stokes’ shift observed from time-resolved measurements gradually increases until it reaches a
saturation value. Observed results have been rationalized on the basis of the mixed micellar structure of the
supramolecular assembly, where the hydrocarbon chain of the CTAC surfactant dissolves into the nonpolar
poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) core of the P123 micelle and the positively charged headgroup of CTAC resides
at the interfacial region between the central PPO core and the surrounding hydrated poly(ethylene oxide)
(PEO) shell or the corona region. The electrostatic attraction between the anionic probe molecule and the
positively charged surface of the PPO core developed by the presence of CTAC results in a gradual shift of
the probe in the deeper region of the micellar corona region with an increase in the CTAC concentration, as
clearly manifested from the solvation dynamics results.
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