Wormlike Micelles: An Introduction

TY - CHAP

T1 - Wormlike Micelles

T2 - An Introduction

AU - Dreiss, Cécile A.

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - Wormlike micelles (WLMs) are elongated, flexible aggregates formed by the self-organization of amphiphiles. Above a threshold concentration, their entanglement into a transient network imparts remarkable viscoelastic properties reminiscent of polymer solutions or gels (see Chapter 2). There is, however, a major difference arising from the fact that these structures are dynamic: aggregates continuously form and reform with surfactants constantly joining and leaving the 'worms'. Critically, this gives WLMs the capacity to break and reform on a very short timescale, but also to change their morphology (from worms to spheres or to vesicles), based on small changes in composition, chemical structures of the amphiphiles, or external parameters such as temperature or pH, which, interestingly, can be exploited to impart responsiveness (see Chapter 6). As a result, WLMs have been exploited in numerous industrial and technological fields, in particular in the oil industry; some examples are given in the last part of this book (Chapters 12-14).

AB - Wormlike micelles (WLMs) are elongated, flexible aggregates formed by the self-organization of amphiphiles. Above a threshold concentration, their entanglement into a transient network imparts remarkable viscoelastic properties reminiscent of polymer solutions or gels (see Chapter 2). There is, however, a major difference arising from the fact that these structures are dynamic: aggregates continuously form and reform with surfactants constantly joining and leaving the 'worms'. Critically, this gives WLMs the capacity to break and reform on a very short timescale, but also to change their morphology (from worms to spheres or to vesicles), based on small changes in composition, chemical structures of the amphiphiles, or external parameters such as temperature or pH, which, interestingly, can be exploited to impart responsiveness (see Chapter 6). As a result, WLMs have been exploited in numerous industrial and technological fields, in particular in the oil industry; some examples are given in the last part of this book (Chapters 12-14).

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85017186086

U2 - 10.1039/9781782629788-00001

DO - 10.1039/9781782629788-00001

M3 - Chapter

AN - SCOPUS:85017186086

VL - 2017-January

T3 - RSC Soft Matter

SP - 1

EP - 8

BT - Wormlike Micelles:

A2 - Dreiss, Cécile

A2 - Feng, Yujun

PB - Royal Society of Chemistry

ER -