Absorption of ionic amphiphils by oppositely charged polyelectrolyte gels

Slightly cross-linked polyelectrolytes absorb oppositely charged surfactants in aqueous media Transfer of amphiphilic ions from solution into the swollen network proceeds as a frontal heterogeneous cooperative reaction causing a collapse of the original polyelectrolyte get Small and wide angle X-ray diffraction data show that electrostatic complex formed as a result of the reaction consists of lamellar type surfactant micelles embedded in a polyelectrolyte network. It is also shown that such complexes contain equimuolar amount of surfactant ions and ionized polyelectrolyte units paired with amphiphil head groups. In other words a charged network is not able to bind surplus oppositely charged surfactant ions. However, it is still able to solubilize a substantial amount of a nonionized surfactant Chemical structure of surfactants strongly affect internal structure of lamellae and stability of the complexes.