Abstract
Micelles are nanoscopic, dynamic, equilibrium structures formed by the association of amphiphiles in a liquid. To date, freezing of disordered micelles typically requires cryogenic quenching. This avoids crystallization of the solvent or surfactant, mitigating against micelle destruction. Here we describe a method to create disordered, dynamically arrested water-free micelles, trapped in a glass-forming solvent at ambient temperature. The micelles are formed by dissolving a surfactant in a molten mixture of sugar (fructose or glucose) and urea. These micelles are trapped in a supercooled state upon cooling the mixture, forming an amorphous micro-heterogeneous material driven by hydrogen bonding interactions. Since all components used in this formulation are solid at room temperature, the supercooled micelle formation is analogous to biphasic alloy formation in metals. This method may provide a way to prepare microphase separated organic solids and to control diffusion-limited aggregation of nanoparticles.
Highlights
Micelles are nanoscopic, dynamic, equilibrium structures formed by the association of amphiphiles in a liquid
In this study we report the formation of micelles comprising sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) in a molten mixture of sugar and urea
We observed supercooled micelle formation in different sugars and sugar alcohols in the presence of additives such as urea
Summary
Dynamic, equilibrium structures formed by the association of amphiphiles in a liquid. The micelles are formed by dissolving a surfactant in a molten mixture of sugar (fructose or glucose) and urea. These micelles are trapped in a supercooled state upon cooling the mixture, forming an amorphous micro-heterogeneous material driven by hydrogen bonding interactions. The large number of hydroxyl groups present in sugars is conducive for the formation of a solid solution with urea through intermolecular hydrogen bonding Such association of the two components in the mixture is expected to slow down sugar crystallization, thereby forming a supercooled solvent to kinetically trap the self-assembled structures present in them. Hydrogen bonding interactions between sugar and urea make this an attractive matrix to trap self-assembled structures in the solid state
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