Determination of surface

tension and critical micellar

concentration of a surfactant
(commercial as well as natural)

Presented By :
Ahana Rawat
Akansha Shukla
Amruta Bhalkar
Anmol
Dipesh Somvanshi
Surface Tension : The property of a liquid evidenced by the apparent presence
of a thin elastic membrane along the interface between the liquid and a vapour phase,
resulting in a contraction of the interface and reduction of the total interfacial area.

Surface active reagent / Surfactant : The descriptive generic term for

materials that preferentially adsorb at interfaces as a result of the presence of both
lyophilic and lyophobic structural units, the adsorption generally resulting in the
alteration of the surface or interfacial properties of the system.
Micelles : Aggregated units composed of a number of molecules of a surface-active
material, formed as a result of the thermodynamics of the interactions between the
solvent (usually water) and lyophobic ( or hydrophobic) portions of the molecule.

Critical Micelle Concentration : A concentration characteristic of a

given surfactant at which certain solution properties change dramatically, indicating
the formation of surfactant aggregates or micelles.