Gemini surfactants with a minimal length linker: Langmuir monolayer studies

This presentation will discuss recent progress in correlating the chemical structure of a novel new class of anionic gemini surfactants, referred to in the literature as a “gemini surfactant with a minimal linker”, to the fundamental properties of monolayers that they form.  These synthetic surfactants, dubbed C_n-0-C_n, form monolayers that span a range of different behaviours depending upon the length of their alkyl tail chains (n).  A combination of characterization methods, ranging from simple compression isotherms to liquid X-ray scattering measurements showed that monolayers behaved like simple fatty acids for long tail chain lengths, like phospholipids for intermediate length tail chains or like liquids for the shortest tail chain lengths. Results are discussed in comparison with other closely-related chemical variants reported previously in the literature, and the key structural motif which imparts this novel behavior in this class of compounds is identified.