Nanostructural and rheological transitions of pH-responsive supramolecular systems involving a zwitterionic amphiphile and a triamine

Abstract

HypothesisSupramolecular aqueous complexes of a synthesized zwitterionic surfactant, 2-(dimethyl(octadecyl)ammonio)acetate (stearyl betaine) and diethylenetriamine, have been found to display pH-tunable rheological properties without the need for a co-surfactant. For this supramolecular system, the dynamically changing interplay among the constituents is responsible for the rich phase behavior including hollow nanotubules, bilayers, and vesicles. A further hypothesis is that hollow nanotubular structure is highly desirable for achieving chain entanglement geometries with reduced mesh size. ExperimentsThe rheological properties of the suspension were measured using a rotational rheometer. An analysis using zero-shear viscosities at various temperatures as well as differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) helped shed light on thermodynamic and phase transitions taking place. The morphology of the suspension was analyzed by using a combination of small angle x-ray scattering(SAXS) and atomic force microscopy(AFM). FindingsLarge steady-shear viscosities (up to ∼160 Pa.s) and viscoelastic behavior was observed in acidic conditions which diminished upon increasing the pH. A novel analysis consisting of measured thermodynamic quantities such as activation energy(Ea) and enthalpy of transition(ΔHT) further allude to the rich pH-sensitive nanoarchitecture of the system. Rather than commonly observed wormlike micelles, hollow nanotubules, as long as 1.6 µm were observed at pH 4 which disintegrated to bilayer sheets and vesicles upon increasing pH. Gaining a comprehensive understanding from all the results, a transition mechanism between different suspension architectures was proposed.