Fluorescence probing of aerosol OT based reverse micelles and microemulsions in n-alkanes (C6–C16) and quenching of Safranine-T in these systems

The fluorescence quenching of Safranine-T (ST) (3,6-diamino-2,7-dimethyl-5 phenyl phenazinium chloride) by the inorganic ions Fe2+, [Fe(CN)6]3− and Cu2+ was studied in aerosol OT (AOT) reverse micelles and microemulsions in various non-polar solvents. The quenching process was exploited to calculate the Stern–Volmer quenching constants at different water/surfactant molar ratios (ω values). The fluorescent probes auramine-O and 8-anilino-1-napthalene sulfonic acid, ammonium salt (ANS) were employed to determine the minimum ω value for the transition of reverse micelles to microemulsions in various non-polar solvents, as well as at different concentrations of surfactant.