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Study of pH-responsive surface active ionic liquids: the formation of spherical and wormlike micelles

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Abstract

A noncovalent bonding method is utilized for forming pH-responsive surface active ionic liquids in mixed N-hexadecyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bromide-based cationic surfactant (C16MPBr) and potassium phthalic acid (PPA). Rheology, cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering results revealed that the microstructure transition between spherical micelles and wormlike micelles was the fundamental cause of the pH-sensitive rheological properties. In addition, combined with nuclear magnetic resonance and UV–vis analysis, we found that the structure transition of micelles was attributed to different binding abilities of hydrotropes to C16MPBr as pH varies. It is confirmed that the binding ability of PPA to C16MPBr is strongest. This noncovalent bonding method is not only versatile but also economical for fabricating pH-responsive surface active ionic liquids.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the donors of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (51425406), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21303268), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (15CX06022A) for generous support of our research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Huadong), Qingdao, Shandong, 266580, People’ Republic of China

    Zhihu Yan, Caili Dai, Mingwei Zhao, Yuyang Li, Mingyong Du & Dongxu Peng

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  1. Zhihu Yan
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  2. Caili Dai
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  3. Mingwei Zhao
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  4. Yuyang Li
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  5. Mingyong Du
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  6. Dongxu Peng
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Correspondence to Zhihu Yan or Caili Dai.

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Yan, Z., Dai, C., Zhao, M. et al. Study of pH-responsive surface active ionic liquids: the formation of spherical and wormlike micelles. Colloid Polym Sci 293, 1759–1766 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-015-3552-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-015-3552-5

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