In
our work, spectroscopic and conductometric analyses of the ninhydrin
(Nin) and threonine (Thr) reaction were investigated in the aqueous
micellar system. To perform the study in the micellar system, double-headed
geminis with different flexible methylene chain length were chosen
as surfactants. Rate constants, k
ψ, were observed by varying different parameters, viz., [Nin], [Thr],
pH, and temperature in geminis using UV–vis spectroscopy. The
study obeyed unity- and fractional-order dependencies on [Thr] and
[Nin]. To check the efficacies of geminis, kinetic runs were performed
at several [geminis], that is, below and above the critical micellar
concentration (cmc) of these surfactants. Surfactants at a concentration
less than the cmc are capable of catalyzing the reaction over aqueous
medium and follow the order 16-4-16 > 16-5-16 > 16-6-16. k
ψ values noted at varying concentrations
of gemini
surfactants, thus, were scrutinized by the pseudo-phase model of micelles.
Experimental outcomes of the current study are used to evaluate various
constants and parameters and discussed by proposing a reasonable reaction
mechanism.