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Macroscopic, mesostructured cationic surfactant/neutral polymer films : Structure and cross-linking

O'Driscoll, Benjamin M.D. ; Fernandez-Martin, Cristina ; Wilson, Roland D. ; Knott, Jessica ; Roser, Stephen J. and Edler, Karen J. LU orcid (2007) In Langmuir 23(8). p.4589-4598
Abstract

Mesostructured films of alkyltrimethylammonium bromides or cetylpyridinium bromide and polyethylenimines that spontaneously self-assemble at the air/water interface have been examined using a range of surface sensitive techniques. These films are unusual in that they can be micrometers thick and are relatively robust. Here we show that the films can be cross-linked and thus removed from the liquid surface where they form, as solid, mesostructured polymer-surfactant membranes. Cross-linking causes little change in the structure of the films but freezes in the metastable mesostructures, enhancing the potential of these films for future applications. Cross-linked films, dried after removal from the solution surface, retain the ordered... (More)

Mesostructured films of alkyltrimethylammonium bromides or cetylpyridinium bromide and polyethylenimines that spontaneously self-assemble at the air/water interface have been examined using a range of surface sensitive techniques. These films are unusual in that they can be micrometers thick and are relatively robust. Here we show that the films can be cross-linked and thus removed from the liquid surface where they form, as solid, mesostructured polymer-surfactant membranes. Cross-linking causes little change in the structure of the films but freezes in the metastable mesostructures, enhancing the potential of these films for future applications. Cross-linked films, dried after removal from the solution surface, retain the ordered nanoscale structure within the film. We also report grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID), which shows that most films display scattering consistent with 2D-hexagonal phase crystallites of rodlike surfactant micelles encased in polymer. Polymer branching makes little difference to the film structures; however, polymer molecular weight has a significant effect. Films with lower polymer MW are generally thinner and more ordered, while higher polymer MW films were thicker and less ordered. Increased pH causes formation of thicker films and improves the ordering in low MW films, while high MW films lose order. To rationalize these results, we propose a model for the film formation process that relates the kinetic and thermodynamic limits of phase separation and mesophase ordering to the structures observed.

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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
in
Langmuir
volume
23
issue
8
pages
10 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:17371057
  • scopus:34247377820
ISSN
0743-7463
DOI
10.1021/la063004b
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
be174919-f065-43b0-ad8c-434cab8b89fe
date added to LUP
2023-05-04 18:35:58
date last changed
2024-01-05 01:11:22
@article{be174919-f065-43b0-ad8c-434cab8b89fe,
  abstract     = {{<p>Mesostructured films of alkyltrimethylammonium bromides or cetylpyridinium bromide and polyethylenimines that spontaneously self-assemble at the air/water interface have been examined using a range of surface sensitive techniques. These films are unusual in that they can be micrometers thick and are relatively robust. Here we show that the films can be cross-linked and thus removed from the liquid surface where they form, as solid, mesostructured polymer-surfactant membranes. Cross-linking causes little change in the structure of the films but freezes in the metastable mesostructures, enhancing the potential of these films for future applications. Cross-linked films, dried after removal from the solution surface, retain the ordered nanoscale structure within the film. We also report grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID), which shows that most films display scattering consistent with 2D-hexagonal phase crystallites of rodlike surfactant micelles encased in polymer. Polymer branching makes little difference to the film structures; however, polymer molecular weight has a significant effect. Films with lower polymer MW are generally thinner and more ordered, while higher polymer MW films were thicker and less ordered. Increased pH causes formation of thicker films and improves the ordering in low MW films, while high MW films lose order. To rationalize these results, we propose a model for the film formation process that relates the kinetic and thermodynamic limits of phase separation and mesophase ordering to the structures observed.</p>}},
  author       = {{O'Driscoll, Benjamin M.D. and Fernandez-Martin, Cristina and Wilson, Roland D. and Knott, Jessica and Roser, Stephen J. and Edler, Karen J.}},
  issn         = {{0743-7463}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{4589--4598}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Langmuir}},
  title        = {{Macroscopic, mesostructured cationic surfactant/neutral polymer films : Structure and cross-linking}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/la063004b}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/la063004b}},
  volume       = {{23}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}