Shape transition of micelles in amphiphilic solution: A molecular dynamics study

The shape transition of micelles in an amphiphilic solution is studied by a molecular dynamics simulation of coarse-grained rigid amphiphilic molecules with explicit solvent molecules. Our simulations show that the micellar shape changes from a disc into a cylinder, and then into a sphere as the hydrophilic interaction increases. We find that the potential energy decreases monotonically even during the micellar shape transition as the hydrophilic interaction increases. In contrast, it is ascertained that there exists a wide coexistence region in the intensity of the hydrophilic interaction between a cylinder and a sphere.