Polymerization of Cationic Surfactant Phases

Abstract

Mixtures of polymerizable surfactants have been employed to select control over interfacial curvature and phase structure, in aqueous micelles, lyotropic mesophases, and water-in-oil microemulsions. These surfactants were 11-(methacryloyloxy)undecyltrimethylammonium bromide (A), dodecyl(11-(methacryloyloxy)undecyl)dimethylammonium bromide (B), and cetyltrimethylammonium 4-vinylbenzoate (C). The single chain A and double chain B have reactive hydrophobic chain tips, whereas the single chain C possesses a polymerizable vinyl benzoate hydrophilic counterion. Aqueous micelles, composed of mixtures of these surfactants, can be polymerized to yield single-phase, stable solutions. Polymerization was confirmed by disappearance of characteristic vinyl signals in the 1H NMR spectra, and line broadening, as would be expected in polymerized micelles. Furthermore, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) indicates that micelle structures were broadly retained after polymerization. SANS has shown that these polymerized structures persist below the critical micelle concentration of the nonpolymerized system. With lyotropic mesophases, polarizing light microscopy coupled with SAXS indicates retention of the lamellar (Lα) phase after polymerization and, for hexagonal (H1) phases, evidence for long-range order in the polymerized sample. Finally, films in water-in-oil microemulsions composed of A and B surfactant mixtures were also studied. After polymerization, NMR indicated around 35% conversion to the surface-active polymer. SANS showed that the droplet size may be tuned by film composition and that the parent droplet structure was retained after polymerization.

Encapsulation of Uranyl Acetate Molecules Using Hollow Polymer Templates

“…TEM analysis also confirms the removal of gold as no presence of atomic gold was detected under TEM microscopy. Similar nanocapsule structures have been reported by several groups (21,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29), and our nanocages were kept in CH 2 Cl 2 solution to prevent the collapse of the polymer walls due to the vacuum used in the removal of the solvents (25). Nanocapsules in CH 2 Cl 2 were then mixed with uranyl acetate aqueous solution to trap these inorganic molecules.…”

Recent Advances in Gemini Surfactants: Oleic Acid-Based Gemini Surfactants and Polymerizable Gemini Surfactants

“…Polymerizable surfactants have been developed for enhancing the kinetic and/or mechanical stability of such molecular assemblies in aqueous solutions and emulsion droplets stabilized by amphiphilic molecules 12 . Polymerized structures are effectively insensitive to dilution effects and the polymerized assemblies persist even below the cmc of the original non-polymerized micelles 13 . Numerous examples of successful polymerization of molecular assemblies e.g., micelles, vesicles, lyotropic liquid crystals, etc.…”

Synthesis and Solution Properties of Fluorinated Amphiphilic Polyacrylamide

“…Hydrophobically association polyacrylamide (HAPAM) 6-9 and amphiphilic polyacrylamide [10][11][12][13][14][15] had been developed and applied to various areas with obvious improvement 16 in solution properties including heat resistance, salt tolerance, etc. This achievement encouraged both academic and industrial researchers to synthesize high-performance copolymers with excellent properties for potential applications in field of EOR.…”