Solubilization of organics I: H NMR chemical shift perturbations, diffusometry, and NOESY indicate biphenyls internalize in micelles formed by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide.

Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of persistent environmental contaminants, and micellar solubilization can be applied to remediate them. The intermolecular aggregates of biphenyl (BP) analogs and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were studied by chemical shift perturbation, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusometry, quantitative proton NMR, and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectroscopy to understand the structural determinants of their solubilization. The micelles of CTAB solubilized BPs readily, but its capacity depended strongly on the nature of the functional group (BPCH OH > > BPCHO > BPCOOH ≈ BPCl ≈ BP).