title: Low-surface energy surfactants with branched hydrocarbon architectures.
abstract: Surface tensiometry and small-angle neutron scattering have been used to characterize a new class of low-surface energy surfactants (LSESs), "hedgehog" surfactants. These surfactants are based on highly branched hydrocarbon (HC) chains as replacements for environmentally hazardous fluorocarbon surfactants and polymers. Tensiometric analyses indicate that a subtle structural modification in the tails and headgroup results in significant effects on limiting surface tensions γcmc at the critical micelle concentration: a higher level of branching and an increased counterion size promote an effective reduction of surface tension to low values for HC surfactants (γcmc ∼ 24 mN m(-1)). These LSESs present a new class of potentially very important materials, which form lamellar aggregates in aqueous solutions independent of dilution.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Bristol , Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Gregory N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guittard
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagisaka
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eastoe