How hydrogen bonds affect the growth of reverse micelles around coordinating metal ions

Extensive research on hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) have illustrated their critical role in various biological, chemical and physical processes. Given that existing studies are predominantly performed in aqueous conditions, how H-bonds affect both the structure and function of aggregates in organic phase is poorly understood. Herein, we investigate the role of H-bonds on the hierarchical structure of an aggregating amphiphile-oil solution containing a coordinating metal complex by means of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and X-ray techniques. For the first time, we show that H-bonds not only stabilize the metal complex in the hydrophobic environment by coordinating between the Eu(NO₃)₃ outer-sphere and aggregating amphiphiles, but also affect the growth of such reverse micellar aggregates. The formation of swollen, elongated reverse micelles elevates the extraction of metal ions with increased H-bonds under acidic condition. These new insights into H-bonds are of broad interest to nanosynthesis and biological applications, in addition to metal ion separations.