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Updated: May 30, 2026

Assembly and Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
Published on: March 2, 2020
Internal organisation in polyelectrolytes/oppositely charged surfactants colloidal complexes anticipating
C Zhou1, D Langevin, S Guillot
1Centre de Recherche sur la Matière Divisée, UMR 6619, Université d'Orléans-CNRS, 1b rue de la Férollerie, 45071 Orléans Cedex 2, France.
Abstract:
In this paper, we relate the periodic nanostructures found in the colloidal complexes and the concentrated phases obtained with polyelectrolyte/surfactant aqueous solutions. We present small-angle X-ray scattering studies of the self-organisation of the anionic polymer carboxymethylcellulose with three cationic quaternary ammonium surfactants with different head and tail groups: hexadecyl trimethyl, hexadecyl ethyl dimethyl and didodecyl dimethyl ammonium bromides. We investigated the mesophases obtained above a precipitation threshold. The mixed solutions with the double-chained surfactant led to lamellar phases, in which the repeat distance only depends on the surfactant/carboxyl charge molar ratio. We show that an internal lamellar organisation already takes place in the dilute phase containing colloidal complexes found below the precipitation threshold.
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A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules, atoms, and/or ions)...
Colloids

