Solubility and phase transfer of insoluble dyes in organic solventusing an amphiphilic multi-block polyurethane reverse micelle

Reverse micelles (RMs) are nanometer-sized aggregates with core-shell structure of amphiphilicmolecules in nonpolar solvents. Considering the ability of amphiphilic systems to dissolve insolublecompounds through micelle formation and encapsulation, Herein, the RM of an amphiphilic multiblockpolyurethane (AMBPU) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as hydrophilic constituent anda hydrophobic segment derived from oleic acid, dihydroxy acid (DHA), was employed asnanocontainer to solublize and phase transfer hydrophilic dyes from aqueous solution to toluene.The dyes included malachite green (MG), rhodamine B (RB) and fuchsin (FU). The solubility andextraction of these insoluble dyes in toluene were monitored using their absorption wavelength. Theabsorption data were also utilized to determine the critical concentration of reverse micelleformation (CMC). The percentage removal was enhanced with increasing polymer concentrationabove CMC. The solubilizing capacity of AMBPU RMs was obtained for all the dyes. Themorphology of RM and encapsulation process were assessed by transmission scanning electronmicroscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurement. Our findings showed that theprepared RM could had a potential in water treatment and drug delivery because of its ability insolublizing and transferring hydrophilic compounds.

کلیدواژه ها:

Amphiphilic polymer ، Reverse micelle ، Polyurethane ، Cationic dye ، Phase transfer