TY - JOUR
T1 - Liquid worm-like and proto-micelles
T2 - Water solubilization in amphiphile-oil solutions
AU - Qiao, Baofu
AU - Littrell, Kenneth C.
AU - Ellis, Ross J.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Noncovalent interactions determine the structure-property relationship of materials. Self-assembly originating from weak noncovalent interactions represents a broad variety of solution-based transformations spanning micellization and crystallization, which, nevertheless, conforms to neither colloid nor solution sciences. Here, we investigate the weak self-assembly in water-amphiphile-oil solutions to understand the connection between the amphiphilic molecular structure and water solubilization in oil. X-ray and neutron scattering, converged with large-scale atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, support the fact that the amphiphiles assemble into liquid worm-like micelles and loose inverted proto-micelles. The inverted proto-micelles are energetically ready to accommodate a higher amount of water. These structures arise from a balance of intermolecular interactions controlled by the amphiphile tail-group structures. Thus, by linking the aggregate morphology to the molecular structure, this work provides insights on the molecular design for control of water solubility and dispersion in oil.
AB - Noncovalent interactions determine the structure-property relationship of materials. Self-assembly originating from weak noncovalent interactions represents a broad variety of solution-based transformations spanning micellization and crystallization, which, nevertheless, conforms to neither colloid nor solution sciences. Here, we investigate the weak self-assembly in water-amphiphile-oil solutions to understand the connection between the amphiphilic molecular structure and water solubilization in oil. X-ray and neutron scattering, converged with large-scale atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, support the fact that the amphiphiles assemble into liquid worm-like micelles and loose inverted proto-micelles. The inverted proto-micelles are energetically ready to accommodate a higher amount of water. These structures arise from a balance of intermolecular interactions controlled by the amphiphile tail-group structures. Thus, by linking the aggregate morphology to the molecular structure, this work provides insights on the molecular design for control of water solubility and dispersion in oil.
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U2 - 10.1039/c8cp00600h
DO - 10.1039/c8cp00600h
M3 - Article
C2 - 29700533
AN - SCOPUS:85046962834
VL - 20
SP - 12908
EP - 12915
JO - Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
JF - Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
SN - 1463-9076
IS - 18
ER -