title: Polymerization of anionic wormlike micelles.
abstract: Polymerizable anionic wormlike micelles are obtained upon mixing the hydrotropic salt p-toluidine hydrochloride (PTHC) with the reactive anionic surfactant sodium 4-(8-methacryloyloxyoctyl)oxybenzene sulfonate (MOBS). Polymerization captures the cross-sectional radius of the micelles (approximately 2 nm), induces micellar growth, and leads to the formation of a stable single-phase dispersion of wormlike micellar polymers. The unpolymerized and polymerized micelles were characterized using static and dynamic laser light scattering, small-angle neutron scattering, 1H NMR, and stopped-flow light scattering. Stopped-flow light scattering was also used to measure the average lifetime of the unpolymerized wormlike micelles. A comparison of the average lifetime of unpolymerized wormlike micelles with the surfactant monomer propagation rate was used to elucidate the mechanism of polymerization. There is a significant correlation between the ratio of the average lifetime to the monomer propagation rate and the average aggregation number of the polymerized wormlike micelles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yamaira I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Hangxun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Kaler
authors.forename: Shiyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu