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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Facile Synthesis of Worm-like Micelles by Visible Light Mediated Dispersion Polymerization Using Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: June 8, 2016
Wormlike micelles from a cage amine metallosurfactant
George A Koutsantonis1, Gareth L Nealon, Craig E Buckley
1Chemistry, School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, Australia 6009. gak@chem.uwa.edu.au
Abstract:
We have shown that copper and cobalt metallosurfactants derived from Cu(II) and Co(III) complexes of a macrobicyclic hexamine ("cage") can form wormlike micelles in aqueous solution that may coexist with or easily interconvert with vesicle structures. The cylindrical micelle structures are unusual for triple-chain surfactants with a single headgroup and are not easily accounted for using geometrical packing arguments. The solution behavior has been characterized by cryo-TEM and SAXS measurements. Both the Cu and Co compounds display viscoelastic solutions at 1 wt %, indicating that such behavior may be anticipated for the full variety of stable metal complexes formed by the cage headgroup, auguring applications based on the incorporation of metallo aggregates into mesoporous silica structures.
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