Symmetric or Asymmetric? Self-assembly of bola-formed nonionic surfactants EnC12Em

Symmetric and asymmetric bola-form nonionic surfactants offer interesting self-assembled nanostructures and solubilisation features. We propose a set of SANS studies to help understand how symmetricity affects the self-assembly of these bola-formed nonionic surfactants. We have synthesised several symmetric and asymmetric bola-formed nonionic surfactants EnC12Em (n + m = 8) including E2C12E6, E3C12E5, and E4C12E4. Our NMR and MS results indicated that all EnC12Em are monodisperse and pure. The surface tension and micellar size change against temperature for the bola-formed nonionic surfactants EnC12Em varied significantly, indicating the great impact by symmetricity. SANS is about the only technique to determine the size and shape of the nanostructures formed by symmetric and asymmetric bola-formed nonionic surfactants EnC12Em. When combined with deuterium incorporation to surfactants and solvent, it is possible to determine more detailed assembled patterns of these nanoaggregates. We request 2 days of SANS2d or Larmor time.