Abstract
Metallosurfactants comprising copper(ii) (Cu(NO3)2) and zinc(ii) (Zn(NO3)2) nitrate complexes of 2,5-dimethyl-7-hydroxy-2,5-diazaheptadecane were found to form stable oil-in-water microemulsions - metallomicroemulsions - that could solubilise toluene in the presence of butanol. A detailed contrast-variation scattering analysis, employing both neutrons and X-rays, in conjunction with pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR and simple phase diagram construction, demonstrated that the system formed is that of a conventional microemulsion - a core comprising toluene, separated from the aqueous phase by the surfactant and co-surfactant/co-solvent. This study further demonstrates the versatility of metallosurfactants and the similarity of their physical chemistry behaviour to that of conventional surfactants.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2552-2557 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Soft Matter |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2010 |