Question:

The critical micelle concentration $(CMC)$ is defined as

Updated On: Jul 7, 2022
  • the concentration at which micellization starts
  • the concentration at which micelle starts behaving like an electrolyte
  • the concentration at which dispersed phase is separated from dispersion medium
  • the concentration at which a colloid is converted to suspension.
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Associated colloids are some substances which at low concentrations behave as normal strong electrolytes, but at higher concentrations exhibit colloidal behaviour due to the formation of aggregates. The aggregated particles thus formed are called micelles. The formation of micelles takes place only above a particular temperature called Kraft temperature and above a particular concentration called critical micelle concentration (CMC).
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Concepts Used:

Detergents

Detergent is a water-soluble cleansing agent that combines with impurities and dirt to make them more soluble and differs from soap in not forming a scum with the salts in hard water.

Properties of Detergents:

  1. The concentration at which micelles formation starts is called as critical micelle concentration (CMC).
  2. Aggregation number is the average number of monomers in a micelle.
  3. Relative micelle size is indicated by micelle molecular weight.
  4. The temperature at which the detergent solution is around or above its critical micelle concentration separates into two phases is called the cloud point.

Read More: Soaps and Detergents

Advantages of Detergents:

  • Detergents work well even with hard water
  • Detergents may be used in saline or acidic water
  • Detergents are more easily soluble in water than soaps.

Disadvantages of Detergents:

  1. Synthetic detergents having branched hydrocarbon chain are not fully biodegradable, i.e., they are not decomposed by micro-organisms in sewage and create water pollution.
  2. They are more expensive than soaps