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Published on: June 8, 2016
pH-Responsive Wormlike Micelles Formed by an Anionic Surfactant Derived from Rosin
Zhaolan Zhai1, Shengfeng Ye1, Xinyan Yan1
1Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF; Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province; Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Jiangsu Province; Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering of Forest Products, National Forestry and Grassland Administration; National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, Jiangsu Province, China.
A novel pH-responsive solution was created using a rosin-based surfactant and CTAB. This solution
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Background:
- Surfactant self-assembly is crucial for developing advanced materials.
- pH-responsive systems offer tunable properties for various applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To construct and characterize a novel pH-responsive wormlike micellar viscoelastic solution.
- To investigate the pH-dependent transformation between viscoelastic fluids and water-like solutions.
Main Methods:
- Rheology to measure viscoelastic properties.
- Cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) for aggregate morphology.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (1H NMR, 1H-1H 2D NOESY) for mechanistic studies.
Main Results:
- The solution's zero-shear viscosity (η0) decreased by three orders of magnitude as pH increased from 5.21 to 9.56.
- Tunable conversion between viscoelastic fluids (wormlike micelles) and water-like solutions (spherical micelles) occurred between pH 3.62 and 12.00.
- Unusually large wormlike micellar diameter (~10 nm) attributed to the rosin skeleton's steric volume.
Conclusions:
- A novel rosin-based surfactant (Na-MPA-AZO-Na) with CTAB forms pH-responsive wormlike micelles.
- The system demonstrates significant pH-induced changes in viscosity and morphology.
- This research highlights potential new applications for forest resources in materials science.
