Squeezing experimental measurements for a proper analysis of surfactant thermodynamics: Octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside as a case study

The thermodynamics of micellization and adsorption of octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (β-C8G1) in aqueous solution is revisited from multiple-temperature (283.15–323.15 K) volumetric, acoustic, and surface studies, as well as from a thorough review of the related literature. As a result, we propose a criterion to set a lower boundary for the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and consequently discard unreliable cmc data. The rewritten and theory-based Lim equation is used to describe the cmc temperature dependence for β-C8G1, allowing to get thermodynamic parameters of micelle formation that are ultimately based on speeds of sound or isentropic compressibilities and agree with those reported from isothermal titration calorimetry.