Effect of the surfactant alkyl chain length on the stabilisation of lyotropic nematic phases

Lyotropic quaternary mixtures of potassium alkanoates (KCx) and sodium alkyl sulphates (NaCxS), where x is the number of carbon atoms in their alkyl chains, were prepared to investigate the effect of the surfactant alkyl chain length on the stabilisation of lyotropic nematic phases. The lyotropic mixtures investigated were formed by the dissolution of KCx (NaCxS) surfactants in the mixture of Rb₂SO₄/1-decanol/water (Na₂SO₄/1-decanol/water), separately. The uniaxial-to-biaxial nematic phase transitions were identified from the temperature dependence of the birefringences of the nematic phases by means of laser conoscopy. The micelle dimensions were obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering measurements. It was observed that the increase in the surfactant alkyl chain length causes the micellar growth in the plane perpendicular to the main amphiphile bilayer. The surfactant alkyl chain length plays a key role on the shape anisotropy of micelles, which triggers the orientational fluctuations that are responsible for the stabilisation of the different lyotropic nematic phases.     

Impacting the length of wormlike micelles using mixed surfactant systems

The effect of adding an alcohol ethoxylate nonionic surfactant (C(18)E(18)) to aqueous solutions of a cationic surfactant, erucyl bis(hydroxyethyl) methylammonium chloride (EHAC,CH(3)(CH(2))(7)(CH)(2)(CH(2))(12)N(+)-(CH(2)CH(2)OH)(2)CH(3)Cl(-)), was studied using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), steady-state rheology, and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM). This cationic surfactant has the ability to self-assemble into giant wormlike micelles in the presence of an electrolyte, such as KCl. In salt-free solutions, the mixture of the two surfactants gave rise to spherical micelles. The scattering curves obtained were fitted with a polydisperse core-shell model combined with a Hayter Penfold potential. The inner and outer radii were found to be dependent on the surfactant ratio. In the presence of KCl, mixed wormlike micelles were formed. However, further addition of C(18)E(18) promoted the breaking of the micellar worms with the appearance of a structure peak in the scattering curves. In addition, it was found that the low shear viscosity is decreased upon addition of the alcohol ethoxylate nonionic surfactant. These findings are in good qualitative agreement with the Cryo-TEM images. The results show that the addition of the nonionic surfactant to the system is a method of controlling the worm length.     

Dynamics of solvent and rotational relaxation of glycerol in the nanocavity of reverse micelles

The dynamics of solvent and rotational relaxation of Coumarin 480 and Coumarin 490 in glycerol containing bis-2-ethyl hexyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) reverse micelles have been investigated with steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. We observed slower solvent relaxation of glycerol confined in the nanocavity of AOT reverse micelles compared to that in pure glycerol. However, the slowing down in the solvation time on going from neat glycerol to glycerol confined reverse micelles is not comparable to that on going from pure water or acetonitrile to water or acetonitrile confined AOT reverse micellar aggregates. While solvent relaxation times were found to decrease with increasing glycerol content in the reverse micellar pool, rotational relaxation times were found to increase with increase in glycerol content.     

Effect of surfactant chain length on the binding interaction of a biological photosensitizer with cationic micelles

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorometric techniques have been exploited to study the photophysical and distribution behavior of an efficient cancer cell photosensitizer, norharmane (NHM), in well-characterized, biomimicking nanocavities formed by cationic micelles with varying surfactant chain length. Amphiphiles like dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB), and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) have been used for the purpose. Emission behavior of NHM is very much dependent on the surfactant concentration as well as their hydrophobic chain length. The binding constant (K) and free-energy change (DeltaG) for the interaction of NHM with the cationic micelles have been determined from the fluorescence data. Polarity of the microenvironment around the probe has been determined in the cationic micellar environments from a comparison of the variation of fluorescence properties of the two-prototropic species of the probe in water/dioxane mixture with varying composition. Experimental results demonstrate that the variation in the cationic surfactant chain length plays an important role in promoting a specific prototropic form of the probe molecule. Fluorescence decays are biexponential in all the micelles indicating that the probe molecules are distributed between the two distinct regions of the micelles. The population of the component with a longer lifetime corresponds to the probe in the head group site, while the short-lived component comes from the probe bound to the core region of the micelles. On the basis of the lifetime measurements, the partitioning behavior of the chromophore in the head group and in the core regions in the micelles has been determined.     

The influence of alkyl chain length on surfactant distribution within organo-montmorillonites and their thermal stability

Organically modified clay minerals with high thermal stability are critical for synthesis and processing of clay-based nanocomposites. Two series of organo-montmorillonites have been synthesized using surfactants with different alkyl chain length. The organo-montmorillonites were characterized by X-ray diffraction and differential thermogravimetry, combining with molecule modelling. For surfactant with relatively short alkyl chain, the resultant organo-montmorillonite displays a small maximum basal spacing (ca. 1.5?nm) and most surfactants intercalate into montmorillonite interlayer spaces as cations with a small amount of surfactant molecules loaded in the interparticle pores with ??house-of-cards?? structure. However, for surfactant with relatively long alkyl chain, the resultant organo-montmorillonite displays a large maximum basal spacing (ca. 4.1?nm) and the loaded surfactants exist in three formats: intercalated surfactant cations, intercalated surfactant molecules (ionic pairs), and surfactant molecules in interparticle pores. The surfactant molecules (ionic pairs) in interparticle pores and interlayer spaces will be evaporated around the evaporation temperature of the neat surfactant while the intercalated surfactant cations will be evaporated/decomposed at higher temperature.     

Effects of alkyl chain length on synergetic adsorption and micelle formation in homologous cationic surfactant mixtures

The surface tensions (gamma) of the aqueous solutions of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) were measured as a function of the total molality of surfactants (m) and the relative proportion (composition) of DTAB (X(2)) at 298.15 +/- 0.05 K under atmospheric pressure. The effect of the difference in the hydrophobic chain length between hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) and DTAB on the synergism was examined. This synergism was observed in the miscibility at the surface of a mixture of these two compounds. The excess Gibbs energy of adsorption of the TTAB-DTAB system was positive in contrast to the HTAB-DTAB system. This indicates that there are certain restrictions on the difference in the hydrophobic chain length for the synergism to be brought about in homologous cationic surfactant mixtures. This mechanism was explained by the theory of a staggered structure formation at the air/water interface. A similar argument successfully applied to the hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (HTAC)-dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) and tetradecyltrimethylammonium chloride (TTAC)-DTAC mixtures also.     

Effect of temperature on the rheology of wormlike micelles in a mixed surfactant system

The formation and rheological behavior of a viscoelastic wormlike micellar solution in an aqueous solution of a mixed surfactant system of alkyl ethoxylate sulfate (AES), C(12)H(25)(OCH(2)CH(2))(3)OSO(-)(3)Na(+), and polyoxyethylene dodecyl ether, C(12)EO(3), and the unusual effect of temperature on the rheological behavior have been studied. Upon successive addition of C(12)EO(3) to the dilute micellar solution of AES, viscosity increases swiftly and reaches its peak where a viscoelastic solution with nearly Maxwellian behavior is formed. With the further addition of C(12)EO(3), viscosity decreases sharply, which is attributed to the formation of micellar joints. With increasing temperature, the extent of micellar growth increases and the viscosity maximum is achieved at a lower mixing fraction of C(12)EO(3), but the maximum viscosity attained by the system decreases. The evolution of relaxation time and network density of the viscoelastic network also suggests that with increasing temperature, enhanced micellar growth takes place, but an additional, faster relaxation mechanism becomes increasingly favorable at high concentrations of C(12)EO(3). These results can be explained in terms of the increase in free energy of hemispherical end-caps (end-cap energy) of the micelles with increasing temperature.     

One-electron reduction of superoxide radical-anions by 3-alkylpolyhydroxyflavones in micelles. Effect of antioxidant alkyl chain length on micellar structure and reactivity

In micellar solutions, one-electron reduction of (*)O 2 (-) radical-anions by 3-alkylpolyhydroxyflavones (FnH) with alkyl chains of n = 1, 4, 6, 10 carbons produces phenoxyl radicals ( (*)Fn) identical to those obtained by one-electron oxidation by (*)Br 2 (-) radical-anions or by repair of tryptophan radicals. In cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), F1H localizes in the Stern layer, and alkyl chains of other FnH solubilize in the hydrophobic interior, interacting with cetyl tails. This interaction produces more compact micelles with lower intramicellar fluidity, as suggested by the increase in the pseudo-first-order rate constant of (*)Fn formation ( k 1) from approximately 390 s (-1) for n = 1 to 610 s (-1) for n = 10, leading to an intramicellar bimolecular rate constant of 1 x 10 (5) M (-1) s (-1). Additionally, (*)F1 and (*)F4 decay by intermicellar bimolecular reaction (2 k = 20 and 2 x 10 (5) M (-1) s (-1), respectively) whereas other (*)Fn radicals are stable over seconds due to increased localization with regards to the Stern layer. In contrast, the thick uncharged hydrophilic palisade layer and the compact hydrophobic core of Triton X100 micelles are responsible for a much higher microviscosity resulting in a decrease in k 1 from approximately 15.6 s (-1) for n = 1 to 9.6 s (-1) for n = 10.     

Effect of alkyl chain length, head group and nature of the surfactant on the hydrolysis of 1,3-benzoxazine-2,4-dione and its derivatives

The alkaline hydrolysis of carsalam (2H-1,3-benzoxazine-2,4(3H)-dione), denoted as I, and its N-substituted derivatives i.e., N-methyl-1,3-benzoxazine-2,4-dione (II) and N-benzoyl-1,3-benzoxazine-2,4-dione (III) was studied spectrophotometrically at physiological temperature. The rate of hydrolysis was found to be independent on the substrate concentration. In case of I, the reaction was fractional order with respect to [OH(-)] while for II and III, reaction obeyed the first order kinetics. Effect of cationic surfactants with varying hydrophobic chains (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide, TTAB and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, DTAB) and with different head-group (cetyl pyridinium chloride, CPC) and anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) was also seen on the rate of alkaline hydrolysis of the carsalam and its derivatives. Cationic surfactants first catalyzed the rate of hydrolysis at lower concentrations followed by the inhibition at higher concentrations. The length of the alkyl chain had remarkable effect on the catalytic efficiency of the surfactants. Similarly N-substitution on substrate also increased the catalysis by micelles. The anionic surfactant SDS inhibited the rate of hydrolysis at all of the concentrations studied. The catalysis by cationic micelles followed by inhibition was treated in terms of the pseudophase ion-exchange model, while for the inhibition by SDS micelles the Menger-Portnoy model was used to fit the data. The effect of salts (NaCl, NaBr and (CH(3))(4)NBr) was also seen on the hydrolysis of II and it was found that all salts inhibited the rate of reaction. The inhibition follows the trend NaCl相似文献   

Microemulsions: Effect of alkyl chain length of alcohol and alkane

In microemulsions consisting of four components, i.e. detergent — water — oil — cosurfactant, the free energy of transfer from the continuous oil phase to the interfacial region for the cosurfactant is reported. From the effect of temperature on the free energy, the entropy and the enthalpy values are also reported. The effect of chain length of the alcohol (cosurfactant) is also described. It is further shown, that if the oil phase consists of hexadecane, then the free energy changes as a linear function of the number of carbon atoms in the cosurfactant. On the other hand, if the oil phase is benzene, the cosurfactant chain length has very little effect. These data are analyzed with respect to the microemulsion structure and stability.     

Properties of mixed micelles of cationic gemini surfactants and nonionic surfactant triton X-100: effects of the surfactant composition and the spacer length

The mixed micelles of cationic gemini surfactants C12C(S)C12Br2 (S=3, 6, and 12) with the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX100) have been studied by steady-state fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence quenching, electrophoretic light scattering, and electron spin resonance. Both the surfactant composition and the spacer length are found to influence the properties of mixed micelles markedly. The total aggregation number of alkyl chains per micelle (N(T)) goes through a minimum at X(TX100)=0.8. Meanwhile, the micropolarity of the mixed micelles decreases with increasing X(TX100), while the microviscosity increases. The presence of minimum in N(T) is explained in terms of the competition of the reduction of electrostatic repulsion between headgroups of cationic gemini surfactant with the enhancement of steric repulsion between hydrophilic headgroups of TX100 caused by the addition of TX100. The variations of micropolarity and microviscosity indicate that the incorporation of TX100 to the gemini surfactants leads to a more compact and hydrophobic micellar structure. Moreover, for the C12C3C12Br2/TX100 mixed micelle containing C12C3C12Br2 with a shorter spacer, the more pronounced decrease of N(T) at X(TX100) lower than 0.8 may be attributed to the larger steric repulsion between headgroups of TX100. Meanwhile, the increase of microviscosity and the decrease of micropolarity are more marked for the C12C12C12Br2/TX100 mixed micelle, owing to the looped conformation of the longer spacer of C12C12C12Br2.     

Influence of surfactant and lipid chain length on the solubilisation of phosphatidylcholine vesicles by micelles comprised of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoesters

Photon correlation spectroscopy and freeze-fracture electron microscopy have been used to determine the ability of a range of micelle-forming, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monoesters (Tweens) to solubilise vesicles prepared from phosphatidylcholines of different acyl chain lengths and degrees of saturation with a view to rationalising (in terms of their membrane toxicity) which of the micelle-forming surfactants to use as drug delivery vehicles. The phosphatidylcholines used were dimyristoyl-, dipalmitoyl-, distearoyl- and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC, DPPC, DSPC and DOPC, respectively) while the nonionic polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoesters studied were polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20), a 9:1 weight ratio mixture of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monopalmitate and monostearate (Tween 40), a 1:1 weight ratio mixture of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monopalmitate and monostearate (Tween 60), and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80). The ability of the Tween micelles to solubilise phospholipid vesicles was found to depend both upon the length of the surfactant acyl chain and the length of the acyl chains of the phospholipid comprising the vesicle. Vesicles composed of long saturated diacyl chain phospholipids, namely DSPC and DPPC, were the most resistant to solubilisation, while those prepared from the shorter acyl chained DMPC were more readily solubilised. In terms of their solubilisation behaviour, vesicles made from phospholipids containing long, unsaturated acyl chains, namely DOPC behaved more akin to those vesicles prepared from DMPC. None of the Tween surfactants were effective at solubilising vesicles prepared from DPPC or DSPC. In contrast, there were clear differences in the ability of the various surfactants to solubilise vesicles prepared from DMPC and DOPC, in that micelles formed from Tween 20 were the most effective solubilising agent while those formed by Tween 60 were the least effective. As a consequence of these observations it was considered that Tween 60 was the surfactant least likely to cause membrane damage in vivo and, therefore, is the most suitable surfactant for use as a micellar drug delivery vehicle.     

Enthalpy relaxation in polymethyl(α-n-alkyl)acrylates: Effect of length of alkyl chain

In this work, we have investigated by DSC the structural relaxation of amorphous polymethyl(α-n-alkyl)acrylates in which it is possible to change the length of the alkyl chain. We have evaluated the Narayanaswamy parameter, x, which controls the relative contribution of temperature and of structure to the relaxation time, the apparent activation energy, Δh*, and the nonexponentiality parameter, β, of the stretched exponential response function. The results suggest that x increases while Δh* decreases and β remains constant as the length of the side chain increases. This allows us to comment on the effect of chemical modification on the relaxation kinetics. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 583–593, 1998     

Transition from antagonistic to synergistic interaction in mixed micellar system by increase in alkyl chain length of alkyl trimethylammonium bromide

Herein, the electrical conductivity technique used to measure the critical micelle concentration (cmc) for pure cationic surfactants (Dodecyl/cetyltrimethylammonium bromides) and phenothiazine drug (Promethazine hydrochloride), as well as their different mole fractions in 10^?3 ?mol/kg 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride (C₈mim.Cl) at different temperatures. By using the cmc values the regular solution theory used to evaluate the micellar mole fraction for DTAB/CTAB-PMT mixed systems. The clint's model used to calculate the ideal critical micelle concentration (cmc1) that helps to evaluate the ideal micellar mole fraction for studied mixed systems, both explain the deviation from ideality. In addition, interaction parameter β^m helps to confirm the nature of interaction (either antagonistic or synergistic) for the studied systems. The calculated parameters confirm a transition in the binding nature from antagonistic to synergistic with the increase in alkyl chain length of cationic surfactant i.e., component of the binary mixed system. The ease of micellization for the studied systems discussed by the standard Gibb's energy of micellization ($\Delta G_m^0$), as well as the standard enthalpy and standard entropy of micellization were ($\Delta H_m^0$) and ($\Delta S_m^0$), respectively to discuss the stability of the studied systems.     

Pyridinium salt liquid crystals Effect of mesogen extension and alkyl chain length

The thermotropism of 1-n-alkyl-(4-methyl and 4-tolyl)pyridinium bromides were compared for alkyl chain lengths ranging from n = 12 to 22 carbons. A smectic A mesophase is present in both series for the longer chain compounds, n ≥ 16, with the clearing temperature being similar for both series but increasing rapidly with chain length. The series with the elongated mesogen also possesses an ordered mesophase identified as smectic G. The transition between this mesophase and the S_A or isotropic phase in the 4-tolyl series, and the transition to and from the crystalline phase in both series, are affected relatively little by the alkyl chain length. It seems that the S_A mesophase is governed primarily by the amphiphilic character of the substances, whereas elongation of the ionic head group is responsible for the appearance of a more ordered mesophase at intermediate temperatures.     

外缘烷基链长对共轭有机小分子聚集行为及光电性质影响

改变分子化学结构和调控分子结构聚集态行为从而影响或改变材料的化学和物理性质, 是开发新型高效有机光电功能材料的重要手段. 在共轭有机分子外缘引入烷基链一般是为了改进材料溶解性能, 但近来的一些研究表明, 烷基链长对一些共轭有机小分子固态聚集行为和光电性质具有重要影响, 烷基链扮演着显著调控材料光电性质的“功能基团”作用. 本文以聚集诱导发光（aggregation-induced emission, AIE）/聚集强化荧光（aggregation enhanced emission, AEE）发射共轭有机小分子为重点, 对近年来有关烷基链长对共轭有机分子聚集形态和光电性质影响的一些典型事例进行评述, 旨在使人们在进行共轭有机分子设计合成及其结构与性能关系研究中能够关注烷基链的因素, 使烷基链变化作为功能导向晶态共轭有机材料设计合成及其可控制备的一种手段.     

Effects of alkyl chain length on surface and micellar properties of octaethyleneglycol-n alkyl ethers

Summary Surface and micellar properties of a homologous series of Octaethylene glycol-n-alkyl ethers (C _n E₈;n = 9 to 15) have been studied in aqueous solutions by the surface tension measurements. The effects of the alkyl chain length comprising even and carbon numbers have been examined in order to evaluate the surface free energy G _A-W and the standard free energy G _m for the micellization obtained from their surface tension data. The areas per molecule and the equilibrium surface tension values at the CMC decreased with an increasing carbon number and they showed zigzag curves by the difference in even and odd carbon numbers.These findings may be attributed to the differences in the molecular orientation between the molecules with even carbon number and ones with odd carbon number on the air-water interface at CMC. G _A-W values decreased linearly with an increasing alkyl chain length but did not show a zigzag line by the differences in even and odd carbon numbers. This suggests that the molecular orientation is not influenced by the difference between their even and odd carbon numbers in the alkyl chain on the surface of the very diluted solution, and their molecules form some stable adsorbed films with an increase of the alkyl chain length. A division of G _A-W into the contribution made both by the hydrophilic group G _A-W (-W) and by the hydrophobic group G _A-W (-CH₂-) was attempted as follows; G _A-W (-CH₂-) = – 0.80 kcal/mol and G _a-W (-W) = + 0.15 kcal/mol.The free energy changes G _m of micellization were discussed on the basis of the CMC data obtained from the surface tension measurements by treating the formation of micelles as analogous to phase separation, and the contribution from the each moieties in the molecule were calculated as follows; G _m (-CH₂-) = – 0.68 kcal/mol and G _m (-W) = + 1.54 kcal/mol. The difference between G _A-W and G _m is discussed using their data.     

Influence of alkyl chain length on phosphate self-assembled monolayers

A series of alkyl phosphates with alkyl chain lengths ranging from C10 to C18 have been synthesized. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of these molecules were prepared on titanium oxide surfaces by immersion of the substrates in alkyl phosphate solutions of 0.5 mM concentration in n-heptane/isopropanol. The SAMs were characterized by means of dynamic water contact angle (dCA) measurements, variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and polarization-modulated infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). A higher degree of order and packing density within the monolayers was found for alkyl phosphates with alkyl chain lengths exceeding 15 carbon atoms. This is reflected in a lower dCA hysteresis, as well as a film thickness measured by VASE and XPS close to the expected values for SAMs with an average alkyl chain tilt angle of 30 degrees to the surface normal. Additionally a shift of the symmetric and antisymmetric C-H stretching modes in the PM-IRRAS spectra to lower wave numbers was observed. These findings imply a higher two-dimensional crystallinity of the films derived from alkyl phosphates with a longer alkyl chain length.