Responsive wormlike micelles from dynamic covalent surfactants

Dynamic covalent chemistry is a powerful tool for the construction of adaptive and stimulus-responsive nanosystems. Here we report on the spontaneous formation of dynamic covalent wormlike micelles from imine-based gemini surfactants, formed upon mixing aqueous solutions of two complementary non-surface-active precursors. Resulting from the reversibility of the dynamic covalent imine bond, the wormlike micelles can be switched between an isotropic solution and the assembled state, triggered by pH and temperature. Thermodynamic modeling of the reaction equilibria shows that, although mixtures of single- and double-tailed surfactants are formed, it is mainly the double-tailed surfactant that assembles into the wormlike micelles.