Kinetics of Phase ordering in Microemulsions and Micellar Solutions

The “head” part of surfactant molecules consist of a polar or ionic group. The “tail” of many surfactants consist of a single hydrocarbon chain whereas that of some other surfactants, e.g., phospholipids, are made of two hydrocarbon chains both of which are connected to the same head. In contrast, gemini surfactants2–5, consist of two single-chain surfactants whose heads are connected by a “spacer” chain and, hence, these “double-headed” surfactants are sometimes also referred to as “dimeric surfactants” (see fig.1).