The Structure of Metallomicelles

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Abstract
The morphology of micelles formed by two novel metallosurfactants has been studied by small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small‐angle‐X‐ray scattering (SAXS). The two surfactants both contain a dodecyl chain as the hydrophobic moiety, but differ in the structure of the head group. The surfactants are CuII complexes of monopendant alcohol derivatives of a) the face‐capping macrocycle 1,4,7‐triazacyclanonane (tacn), and b) an analogue based upon the tetraazamacrocycle 1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane. Here, neutron scattering has been used to study the overall size and shape of the surfactant micelles, in conjunction with X‐ray scattering to locate the metal ions. For the 1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐based surfactant, oblate micelles are observed, which are smaller to the prolate micelles formed by the 1,4,7‐triazacyclononane analogue. The X‐ray scattering analysis shows that the metal ions are distributed throughout the polar head‐group region, rather than at a well‐defined radius; this is in good agreement with the SANS‐derived dimensions of the micelle. Indeed, the same model for micelle morphology can be used to fit both the SANS and SAXS data.

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