Self-Assembly of Anionic Gemini Surfactant: Fluorescence
Resonance Energy Transfer and Simulation Study
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Abstract
The interaction of dyes with a sulfonated Gemini surfactant was
investigated in aqueous solution using Förster resonance energy
transfer with acridine orange (AO) as a donor and rhodamine B (RhB)
as an acceptor. Surface tension results showed that AO and RhB have
different effects on the self-assembly of the Gemini surfactant, with
AO giving a higher critical micelle concentration (cmc) and lower
surface tension, while the opposite was observed for RhB. Energy transfer
from AO to RhB was observed in the presence of the surfactant, and
the energy transfer efficiency initially improved with increased surfactant
concentration but then decreased significantly when the surfactant
reached a higher concentration due to the formation of larger aggregates,
which increased the average distance between AO and RhB. Dynamic light
scattering demonstrated the existence of these large aggregates. Moreover,
simulations using dissipative particle dynamics supported the experimental
results