Can molecules with an anionic head and a poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether tail self-assemble in water? A surface tension, fluorescence probe, light scattering, and transmission electron microscopic investigation

Abstract

In this work, we report for the first time the synthesis and characterization of two unusual carboxylate surfactants with a poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether, mPEG, tail of different chain lengths. The molecules were observed to be surface-active, and were found to self-assemble in water above a relatively low critical aggregation concentration to form disk-like micelles.