Gemini cationic surfactants are compounds which are composed of two hydrophilic head groups and two hydrophobic tails linked by a spacer at the head groups or closed to them. The spacer can be either hydrophobic or hydrophilic. It can be rigid or flexible. The neutral charge of the molecule is retained by the presence of organic or inorganic counterions. Critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), surface tension (γ) and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) are dozen times lower than corresponding parameters of monomeric surfactants. The unique properties of gemini surfactants with a wide range of hydrophiliclipophilic balance (HLB) make them a very useful, innovative material in detergents, cosmetics, personal care products, additives for paints and coatings, biocides, material science, organic synthesis, pharmacy, textiles, enhanced oil recovery, nanotechnology, petroleum and many other branches of life. A large number of papers concerning gemini surfactants have been published so far. This review presents a synthetic look at current work devoted to structure, synthesis and applications of gemini surfactants.

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Organic corrosion inhibitors are one of the five ways, besides material selection, design, cathodic protection and coatings, to protect materials against corrosion. Corrosion is an ubiquitous phenomena that deteriorates all materials, metals, plastics, glass and concrete. The costs of corrosion are tremendous and amounts to 4.0% of gross domestic product (GDP) in USA. The similar losses of GDP are noted in all countries around the world. At this point of time, there is no way to completely stop the corrosion processes. Some new solutions can only slow this process. Organic corrosion inhibitors are widely used in industry because of their effectiveness at wide range of temperatures, compatibility with protected materials, good solubility in water, low costs and relatively low toxicity. Organic corrosion inhibitors adsorb on the surface to form protective film which displace water and protect it against deteriorating. Effective organic corrosion inhibitors contain nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorus with lone electron pairs as well can contain structural moieties with π-electrons that interact with metal favoring the adsorption process. This review presents mechanisms and monitoring of corrosion, laboratory methods for corrosion study, relationship between structure and efficacy of corrosion inhibitions, theoretical approach to design new inhibitors and some aspects of biocorrosion.

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The scientific community has paid special attention to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in recent years due to their huge technological capacities, particularly in biomedical applications, such as antimicrobials, drug-delivery carriers, device coatings, imaging probes, diagnostic, and optoelectronic platforms. The most popular method of obtaining silver nanoparticles as a colloidal dispersion in aqueous solution is chemical reduction. The choice of the capping agent is particularly important in order to obtain the desired size distribution, shape, and dispersion rate of AgNPs. Gemini alkylammonium salts are named as multifunctional surfactants, and possess a wide variety of applications, which include their use as capping agents for metal nanoparticles synthesis. Because of the high antimicrobial activity of gemini surfactants, AgNPs stabilized by this kind of surfactant may possess unique and strengthened biocidal properties. The present paper presents the synthesis of AgNPs stabilized by gemini surfactants with hexadecyl substituent and variable structure of spacer, obtained via ecofriendly synthesis. UV-Vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering were used as analyzing tools in order to confirm physicochemical characterization of the AgNPs (characteristic UV-Vis bands, hydrodynamic diameter of NPs, polydispersity index (PDI)).