Small-angle neutron scattering from mixtures of sodium dodecyl sulfate and a cationic, bolaform surfactant containing azobenzene.
This paper reports on the microstructures formed in aqueous solutions containing mixtures of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and a photosensitive, bolaform surfactant, bis(trimethylammoniumhexyloxy)azobenzene dibromide (BTHA). By using quasi-elastic light scattering and small-angle neutron scattering, we determined that aqueous solutions containing SDS and the trans isomer of BTHA (0.1 wt % total surfactant, 15 mol % BTHA, 85 mol % SDS) form vesicles with average hydrodynamic diameters of 1350 +/- 50 angstroms and bilayer thicknesses of 35 +/- 2 angstroms. The measured bilayer thickness is consistent with a model of the vesicle bilayer in which the trans isomer of BTHA spans the bilayer. Upon illumination with UV light, the BTHA underwent photoisomerization to produce a cis-rich photostationary state (80% cis isomer). We measured this photoisomerization to drive the reorganization of vesicles into cylindrical aggregates with cross-sectional radii of 19 +/- 3 angstroms and average hydrodynamic diameters of 240 +/- 50 angstroms. Equilibration of the cis-rich solution in the dark at 25 degrees C for 12 h or illumination of the solution with visible light leads to the recovery of the trans-rich photostationary state of the solution and the reformation of vesicles, thus demonstrating the potential utility of this system as the basis of a tunable fluid.
Hubbard
F Pierce
FP
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1691, USA.
Santonicola
Gabriella
G
Kaler
Eric W
EW
Abbott
Nicholas L
NL
D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D009502:Neutrons; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D001391:Azo Compounds; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; C009850:azobenzene