Conjugation with lone-pair electrons. II. The adsorption of naphthols by cationic micelles in dilute aqueous solution

Effect of the Hydrophobic Tail of a Chiral Surfactant on the Chirality of Aggregates and on the Formation of Wormlike Micelles

The micellization of chiral enantiopure surfactants, dodecyl- N, N-dimethyl- N-( S)-(1-phenyl)ethylammonium bromide and hexadecyl- N, N-dimethyl- N-( S)-(1-phenyl)ethylammonium bromide, was investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. The formation of wormlike micelles (WLMs) upon the addition of sodium salicylate to the aqueous solutions of the surfactant was observed only in the case of hexadecyl- N, N-dimethyl- N-( S)-(1-phenyl)ethylammonium bromide. The presence of WLMs was assessed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, rheology, and isothermal titration calorimetry experiments, and their supramolecular chirality was investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Depending on the length of the hydrophobic tail, molecular chirality is transferred into a different chiral supramolecular trait. Our findings demonstrate that hydrophobic interactions by controlling the organization and functions of self-assemblies also control the transcription of the chiral information from molecules to complex supramolecular systems.

Stabilization of spherical nanoparticles of iron(III) hydroxides in aqueous solution by wormlike micelles

HYPOTHESIS

The low K_sp value of Fe(OH)₃ (3 × 10^-38 at 298 K) explain the immediate coagulation when the pH of a solution of Fe(III) is adjusted to 7. However, stable dispersions of Fe(OH)₃ can be formed when the pH is adjusted to 7 in the presence of wormlike micelles formed by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium salicylate. The formation of a structure containing Fe(OH)₃ nanoparticles decorating wormlike micelles is responsible for the high stability of the dispersions.

EXPERIMENTS

Fe(OH)₃ nanoparticles were obtained by increasing the pH of solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and Fe(III), previously complexed with salicylate at pH 3. The interaction between nanoparticles and the chains of wormlike micelles was investigated by DLS, SAXS, TEM and Cryo-TEM.

FINDINGS

DLS revealed higher scattering contrast and slower diffusion for wormlike micelles in the presence of nanoparticles. These results were interpreted as the decoration of the chains of wormlike micelles by nanoparticles of Fe(OH)₃. A pearl-necklace model was successfully used to adjust SAXS curves, revealing nanoparticles with ∼3 nm of diameter, spaced ∼2 nm apart along the string. This result agrees with TEM and Cryo-TEM images. The formed structure prevents the coagulation of nanoparticles, assuring high stability to the dispersion.

Generation of a Chiral Giant Micelle

Over the past few years, chiral supramolecular assemblies have been successfully used for recognition, sensing and enantioselective transformations. Several approaches are available to control chirality of discrete assemblies (e.g., cages and capsules), but few are efficient in assuring chirality for micellar aggregates. Optically active amino acid-derived surfactants are commonly used to generate chiral spherical micelles. To circumvent this limitation, we benefited from the uniaxial growth of spherical micelles into long cylindrical micelles usually called wormlike or giant micelles, upon the addition of cosolutes. This paper describes the unprecedented formation of chiral giant micelles in aqueous solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) upon increasing addition of enantiopure sodium salt of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (Na-binaphtholate) as a cosolute. Depending on the concentrations of CTAB and Na-binaphtholate, chiral gel-like systems are obtained. The transition from spherical to giant micellar structures was probed using rheology, cryo-transmission electron microscopy, polarimetry, and electronic circular dichroism (CD). CD can be effectively used to monitor the incorporation of Na-binaphtholate into the micelle palisade as well as to determine its transition to giant micellar structures. Our approach expands the scope for chirality induction in micellar aggregates bringing the possibility to generate "smart" chiral systems and an alternative asymmetric chiral environment to perform enantioselective transformations.

Worm-like micelles of CTAB and sodium salicylate under turbulent flow

Polymers with high molecular weight and worm-like micelles are drag-reducing agents under turbulent flow. However, in contrast to the polymeric systems, the worm-like micelles do not undergo mechanical degradation due to the turbulence, because their macromolecular structure can be spontaneously restored. This very favorable property, together with their drag-reduction capability, offer the possibility to use such worm-like micelles in heating and cooling systems to recirculate water while expending less energy. The formation, growth, and stability of worm-like micelles formed by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium salicylate (NaSal) were investigated using the self-fluorescence of salicylate ions and the ability of the giant micelles to promote hydrodynamic drag reduction under turbulent flow. The turbulence in solutions of CTAB-Sal was produced within the double-gap cell of a rotational rheometer. Detailed diagrams were obtained for different ratios of Sal and CTAB, which revealed transitions associated with the thermal stability of giant micelles under turbulent flow.