Responsive, switchable wormlike micelles for CO2/N2 and redox dual stimuli based on selenium-containing surfactants

Abstract

A dual-stimuli responsive, wormlike micelle system was developed using a switchable selenium-containing surfactant, dihendecylcarboxylic acid sodium selenide (C₁₁-Se-C₁₁), and a commercially available surfactant, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The solution showed a viscoelastic characteristic at low shear frequencies, and the synergism was significant when the concentrations of CTAB and C₁₁-Se-C₁₁ were 145 mM and 25 mM, respectively. Additionally, the system was fast and reversibly responded to CO₂ and redox dual stimuli, and it showed a circulatory gel/sol transition, which reflected changes in the self-assembly from entangled worms to rodlike micelles. Moreover, these transitions were switchable at least three times. The dual responsiveness of the solution allowed for precise control of the wormlike micelles, and these micelles will have a wide range of applications in the development of functional materials for pharmaceutical or biomedical materials.