Evidence for Vesicle Formation during the Synthesis of Catanionic Templated Mesoscopically Ordered Silica as Studied by Cryo-TEM

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Abstract
The formation of vesicles during the synthesis of mesostructured surfactant−silicate materials has been evidenced for the first time by applying in situ Cryo-TEM. A mixture of anionic and cationic surfactants was used to fine-tune the packing parameter of the supramolecular surfactant assembly. It is shown that the vesicles are formed during the course of the reaction and suggested to be a consequence of silicate condensation reactions. Furthermore, the study confirms earlier suggestions that the silicate−surfactant micelles are capable of solubilizing hydrophobic additives during the early stages of the reaction.