Metallosurfactants: interfaces and micelles.
Incorporating a metal cation as an integral component of the headgroup of a surfactant--a metallosurfactant--offers a route to concentrate these ions and their associated functionality at interfaces. To reduce the lability of the metal, various chelating or macrocyclic ligands may be employed leading to a family of homologous series of related metallosurfactants with a structural diversity that is arguably broader than is inherently possible with conventional surfactants. This review discusses the small number of key papers that are quantifying the physico-chemical properties of metallosurfactants and highlights their "classical" as well as "non-classical" surfactant behaviour, providing an insight into the structure of micelles and films formed from these novel materials.
Griffiths
P C
PC
School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, United Kingdom. griffithspc@cardiff.ac.uk
Fallis
I A
IA
Chuenpratoom
T
T
Watanesk
R
R