Supramolecular organization of protonated aminosilicones in water

Abstract

This study deals with the ionically-driven self-assembly of oligomeric aminosilicones, judiciously protonated with a variety of organic acids. Depending on the length of the silicone and the strength of the associated acids, (inverse) water-in-silicone emulsions, small nanoparticles, or catanionic vesicles were prepared and characterized by conventional (TEM) or original (DIC optical microscopy, DOSY NMR) techniques. For chains longer than about 40 units, a specific PEG-based sulfonic acid was synthesized and used to generate a supramolecular block-like copolymer and ensure fast and efficient emulsification. In all instances, a simple impulse such as pH increase triggered phase separation of the colloidal objects.

Keywords: Aminosilicone; Colloids; Inverse emulsions; Ionic pairs; Nanoparticles; Reversible association; Self-assembly.