Solid mesostructured polymer–surfactant films at the air–liquid interface

Abstract

General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms Solid, Mesostructured Polymer-Surfactant Films Formed at the Air-Liquid Interface self-supporting films comprising surfactant micelles encased with a polymer hydrogel-surfactant-polymer 6 films, that can be grown spontaneously at the air-liquid interface. These films can be prepared with defined 7 and controllable mesostructures. Addition of a siliconalkoxide to polymer-surfactant mixtures allowed for 8 the growth of mesostructured hybrid polymer-surfactant silica films that retained film geometry after 9 calcination and exhibit superior mechanical properties to typically brittle inorganic films. Growing films at 10 the air-liquid interface provides the most rapid and simple means to prepare ordered solid inorganic films 11 and to date the only method to form mesostructure films thick enough (up to several hundred microns) to be 12 removed from the interface. Applications of these films could range from catalysis to encapsulation of 13 hydrophobic species and drug delivery. Film properties and mesostructure are sensitive to surfactant 14 structure, polymer properties and polymer-surfactant phase behaviour: herein it will be shown in particular 15 how the film mesostructure can be tailored by directing these parameters and some interesting analogies will 16 be drawn with more familiar mesostructure silica materials.

Complex Formations between Surfactants and Polyelectrolytes of the Same Charge on a Water Surface

“…The interaction between surfactants and polyelectrolytes has been extensively studied because of their broad applications in pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and many industrial processes. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]51 The interaction leads to the formation of surfactant−polymer complexes, which modify the interfacial properties. Investigations of surfactant−polyelectrolyte interactions are motivated in part by seeking new types of surfactant−polymer complexes with novel interfacial or dispersion properties.…”

Outset of the Morphology of Nanostructured Silica Particles during Nucleation Followed by Ultrasmall-Angle X-ray Scattering

“…Almost 20 years after their discovery, , ordered mesoporous materials, obtained via self-assembly using nonionic surfactants and inorganic silica precursors, have become available with a wide range of well-characterized structures. An important issue for several applications, such as catalysis, nanocasting, gas sensors, membranes, , or controlled release of drugs, , is the ultimate control of the porosity on a truly macroscopic scale, extending typically to the range of millimeters or centimeters . For example, even for a simple 2D hexagonally ordered material, straightforward ways to get truly macroscopically oriented pores are still substantially lacking .…”