ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal
This is a page describing data taken during an experiment at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. Information about the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source can be found at https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk.
The curious case of surfactant self-assembly in H-bonding rich non-aqueous media: Unexpected effect of counterions
Abstract: Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are considered a greener alternative to conventional ionic liquids, and their hydrogen bond-rich environment has been shown to support self-assembly of different amphiphiles. Here, we propose to perform a small angle neutron scattering (SANS) characterisation of the self-assembled nanostructures of STAC (cetrimonium chloride) and CTAB, cetrimonium bromide) in glycerol and DES glycelin (choline chloride:glycerol in a 1:2 molar ratio). Differing only in their counterions (Cl- vs Br-; Fig.1), the two surfactants exhibited, surprisingly, contrasting self-assembly behaviours: STAC formed a gel in glyceline but not in glyceol; whereas CTAB formed a gel in glycerol but not in glyceline (Fig. 2). SANS will provide unique nanostructural insights to complement rheology and polarised light microscopy, shedding light on the mechanisms of molecular self-assembly in such H-bonding rich non-aqueous media, important to their future application as a green solvent.
Principal Investigator: Professor Wuge Briscoe
Experimenter: Miss Xueying Guo
Experimenter: Miss Holly Stockdale
Local Contact: Dr Lauren Matthews
Experimenter: Mr Tao Ma
Experimenter: Miss Elena Venturelli
Experimenter: Mr Matteo Fois
Experimenter: Ms Ruiting Zhang
Experimenter: Miss Jia He
Experimenter: Mr Francesco Vicentini
DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2420467
ISIS Experiment Number: RB2420467
| Part DOI | Instrument | Public release date | Download Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2420467-1 | SANS2D | 22 February 2028 | Download |
Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation
The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research
publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher],
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For Example:
Professor Wuge Briscoe et al; (2025): The curious case of surfactant self-assembly in H-bonding rich non-aqueous media: Unexpected effect of counterions, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2420467
Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.
