ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Probing the crystallisation of anionic surfactants in nonaqueous polar solvents: What is behind the curious lamellar gel phase - tails, heads or counterions?

Abstract: Formulations are prevalent in day-to-day life, in medicine and personal care products to paints and coatings, or even food science. Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules is ubiquitous in formulation science, from cleaning in washing up liquid to perfumes in shampoos or conditioners, for example. However, formulation science can be limited when using water as the solvent media, limiting the reaction/formulation temperature, or what active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can be added. Nonaqueous media are a way to overcome some of these barriers, with polar molecules such as glycerol having beneficial molecular properties, such as high boiling point and propensity for organic molecules. Here, we propose a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study to investigate anionic surfactants in nonaqueous media, as it is clear that there is an impact of solvent on assembled surfactant phases. This experiment will enable us to both further our fundamental understanding of amphiphile assembly in polar media, and provide insights relevant for industrial applications.

Local Contact: Dr Lauren Matthews
Experimenter: Ms Yin Ling Ho

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610636

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2610636

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], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Lauren Matthews et al; (2026): Probing the crystallisation of anionic surfactants in nonaqueous polar solvents: What is behind the curious lamellar gel phase - tails, heads or counterions?, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610636

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.