Responsive Wormlike Micelles
from Dynamic Covalent Surfactants
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Abstract
Dynamic covalent chemistry is a powerful tool for the
construction of adaptive and stimulus-responsive nanosystems. Here
we report on the spontaneous formation of dynamic covalent wormlike
micelles from imine-based gemini surfactants, formed upon mixing aqueous
solutions of two complementary non-surface-active precursors. Resulting
from the reversibility of the dynamic covalent imine bond, the wormlike
micelles can be switched between an isotropic solution and the assembled
state, triggered by pH and temperature. Thermodynamic modeling of
the reaction equilibria shows that, although mixtures of single- and
double-tailed surfactants are formed, it is mainly the double-tailed
surfactant that assembles into the wormlike micelles