The influence of sodium dodecyl sulfate/benzyl alcohol/H2O system on the photoisomerization of trans-stilbene.

Photoisomerization of trans-stilbene (TS) was investigated in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/benzyl alcohol (BA)/H(2)O systems in order to establish the relationship between the reaction yields and the compositions and structures of molecular organized assemblies. The results show that, in SDS/BA/H(2)O systems with the structures of oil in water microemulsions, bicontinuous microemulsions, and hexagonal liquid crystals, the reaction yields are much larger than those in benzyl alcohol, both with and without the photosensitizer 9,10-anthracenedicarbonitrile. However, SDS/BA/H(2)O water in oil microemulsion and lamellar liquid crystal can obviously catalyze the photoisomerization of TS only when the photosensitizer is not present. The yield is increased with the increase in H(2)O content or with the decrease in BA content.