Micelles, Membranes, Microemulsions, and Monolayers [Paperback]

Over the last decades, the study of surfactants (detergents, for example) has been profoundly changed by ideas and techniques from physics, chemistry, and materials science. Among these are: self assembly; critical phenomena, scaling, and renormalization; high-resolution scattering, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This book represents the first systematic account of these new developments, providing both a general introduction to the subject as well as a review of recent developments. The book will be a very useful tool for the biophysist, biochemist or physical chemist working in the field of surfactants.Over the last decades, the study of surfactants (detergents, for example) has been profoundly changed by ideas and techniques from physics, chemistry, and materials science. Among these are: self assembly; critical phenomena, scaling, and renormalization; high-resolution scattering, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This book represents the first systematic account of these new developments, providing both a general introduction to the subject as well as a review of recent developments. The book will be a very useful tool for the biophysist, biochemist or physical chemist working in the field of surfactants.1 Statistical Thermodynamics of Amphiphile Self-Assembly: Structure and Phase Transitions in Micellar Solutions.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Amphiphile Self-Assembly in Dilute Solutions.- 1.2.1 Underlying Statistical Thermodynamics.- 1.2.2 The Equilibrium Size Distribution.- 1.2.3 From Monomers to Aggregatesthe CMC.- 1.2.4 Micellar Growth.- 1.2.5 Other Aggregates.- 1.2.6 The Aggregates Partition Function: Rotation-Translation Contributions.- 1.3 Molecular Organization of Aggregates.- 1.3.1 Separation of Head and Tail Contributions.- 1.3.2 Hydrocarbon Droplet Models.- 1.3.3 Chain Packing Statistics.- 1.3.4 Elastic Properties.- 1.4 Interaction Effects in Dilute Solution and Beyond.- 1.4.1 Isotropic Solution Effects.- 1.4.2 Isotropic-to-Nematic Transition.- 1lã#