Amphiphilic molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties self-assemble into various micellar structures and represent excellent phase behaviors depending on their geometrical molecular shape in aqueous solution. The self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules can easily transform into other structures by controlling the external conditions such as temperature, pH and additives that can induce a different geometrical molecular shape. Therefore, the amphiphilic molecules have attracted considerable interests for a wide range of potential applications such as nanotemplates, nanobuilding blocks or drug delivery. However, for practical use of amphiphilic molecules in nano and bio-science, it is essential to know the information for the phase behavior of amphiphilic molecules under various external conditions. Here, the various self-assembled structures of amphiphilic molecules including surfactants and block copolymers under the additives and temperature change have been investigated by using the small angle neutron scattering (SANS). The SANS intensity showed that the surfactants formed cylindrical micelle induced by the additives even below CMC and transformed into unilamellar vesicles by further increasing the additives. The size of the vesicular structure was increased with their alkyl chain length. Furthermore, the surfactant vesicles transformed into cylindrical micelles by temperature elevation [1, 2]. For the block copolymers, the SANS intensity revealed various nanostructures including spheres, cylinders, and vesicles depending on the hydrophilic mass fraction of the block copolymer and external conditions [3,4]  Reference[1] Kim, T.-H., Han, Y.-S. Seong, B.-S. and Hong, K.-P. Soft Matter, 7, 2011, 10070-10075.[2] Kim, T.-H., Han, Y.-S., Jang, J.-D. and Seong, B.-S. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. In press. (2014)[3] Kim, T.-H., Han, Y.-S., Jang, J.-D. and Seong, B.-S. J. Appl. Cryst. (2014). 47, 53�59[4] Kim, T.-H., Song, C., Han,Y.-S., Jang, J.-D.and Choi, M. C. Soft Matter, 10, 2014, 484-490.

Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into various nanostructures under various external conditions: A small angle neutron scattering study

248th National Meeting (2014)

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