Abstract
Amphiphilic molecules in aqueous solutions cluster together into diverse aggregates organized in a variety of macroscopic phases. A common characteristic of all the aggregates is that they comprise two regions: a hydrophobic core composed of the hydrocarbon tails (typically alkyl chains) of the amphiphiles, and a hydrophilic mantle containing their polar (ionic, nonionic or zwitter-ionic) heads. Interest in amphiphile solutions and micellar aggregates is wide and interdisciplinary, involving basic questions in physics, biology, medicine, and chemistry, as well as having practical applications in the oil, pharmaceutical, detergent, food, and other industries. Many of the basic issues, such as the kinetics and thermodynamics of aggregate formation growth, and phase transitions, are physico-chemical in nature. In this review, we focus attention on the microscopic structure of the aggregates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Annual Review of Physical Chemistry |
| Publisher | Annual Reviews Inc. |
| Pages | 179-211 |
| Number of pages | 33 |
| Volume | 36 |
| ISBN (Print) | 0824310365 |
| State | Published - 1985 |