Micelles and Amphiphile Concentration

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Questions and Answers

What are amphiphilic molecules composed of?

  • Hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups (correct)
  • Only hydrophilic groups
  • Only hydrophobic groups
  • Neither hydrophobic nor hydrophilic groups

What is the term for the hydrophilic part of an amphiphilic molecule?

  • Aggregate
  • Tail
  • Micelle
  • Headgroup (correct)

What is the critical micelle concentration (cmc)?

  • The concentration at which micelles break down
  • The concentration below which micelles exist
  • The concentration above which micelles exist
  • The concentration at which micelles start to form (correct)

What happens to the amount of non-micellar solved amphiphile when the concentration exceeds the cmc?

<p>It changes only slightly (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the minimum number of monomers required to form a micelle?

<p>50 (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for small aggregates of amphiphilic molecules?

<p>Micelles (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of micelle formation?

<p>To decrease water/hydrocarbon contact (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the micelle structure when the concentration is below the cmc?

<p>Micelles do not exist (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens when the amphiphile concentration is increased beyond a certain point?

<p>The system turns over to 'reverse' or 'inverted' micelles (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of an aliphatic chain in a surfactant molecule that allows it to fit into a micelle?

<p>It must be flexible (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the temperature below which a crystalline amphiphile is almost insoluble in water?

<p>Kraft-point (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between normal and reverse micelles?

<p>The location of the hydrophilic solvent (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of increasing the aliphatic chain length on the Kraft-point?

<p>It increases the Kraft-point (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the condition necessary for a surfactant molecule to form micelles?

<p>The temperature must be above the Kraft-point (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the hydrophilic solvent in normal micelles?

<p>It separates the hydrophobic core from the hydrophilic surrounding (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the shape of the micelle in which the hydrophilic solvent is inside the aggregate?

<p>Reverse spherical micelle (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the concentration range of lyotropic liquid crystals?

<p>Between the isotropic solution and the crystalline surfactant (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the shape of the micelles that can lead to a nematic phase?

<p>Rod-like or disc-like (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between lyotropic and thermotropic liquid crystals?

<p>The temperature and concentration of the surfactant aggregates (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the phase where the preferred axes of rod-like or disc-like micelles arrange parallel to each other?

<p>Nematic (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the symbol for the nematic phase of rod-like micelles?

<p>𝑁! (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of a biaxial nematic phase?

<p>Long-range orientational order of two preferred axes (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of chiral lyotropic phases?

<p>A helical structure of the director distribution (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of introducing an increasing amount of order to a surfactant/solvent system?

<p>A development of lyotropic liquid crystalline structures (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Micelles

  • In normal micelles, the polar headgroups of the internal surfaces separate the hydrophobic core of the aggregate from the hydrophilic surrounding.
  • As the amphiphile concentration increases, the water content of the solution may become too small to separate discrete micelles, leading to the formation of "reverse" or "inverted micelles.
  • In reverse micelles, the hydrophilic solvent represents the core of the micelle, and the hydrophobic chains and eventually added oil take the part of the continuous medium.

Micelle Formation

  • Below a well-defined temperature (Kraft-point), the crystalline amphiphile is almost insoluble in water, and no micelles can form.
  • The Kraft-point (T) increases with the aliphatic chain length.
  • Only above T, a sufficient number of free monomers can exist in the solvent to exceed the critical micelle concentration (cmc).

Amphiphilic Molecules

  • Amphiphilic molecules are composed of hydrophobic (lipophilic) and hydrophilic (lipophobic) groups.
  • The hydrophilic part of the molecule is usually called the "headgroup", while the hydrophobic part is called the "tail".
  • Examples of amphiphilic molecules include sodium decylsulfate.

Micelle Structure

  • Micelles do not exist below the critical micelle (formation) concentration (cmc).
  • Micelles are small aggregates with a finite size, typically consisting of 50 up to several hundred monomers.
  • The setup of a micelle is a cooperative phenomenon that takes at least a minimum number of monomers (about 50) to sufficiently reduce the water/hydrocarbon contact by aggregation.

Lyotropic Liquid Crystals

  • Lyotropic liquid crystals exist in a concentration range between the isotropic solution and the crystalline surfactant.
  • They are mesophases like thermotropic ones, but with essential differences between the two classes of liquid crystals.
  • The structure-building elements of lyotropic liquid crystals are anisometric micelles or quasi-micellar aggregates.

Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Structures

  • Nematic phases of rod-like micelles are denoted as N, while N or N refers to disc-like micelles.
  • Both nematic phases exhibit long-range orientational order of only one preferred axis.
  • If the two other aggregate axes are not equivalent, it is possible to get these axes ordered, too, resulting in a biaxial nematic (N).

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