Surface and Self-Aggregation Properties of Bis-Benzimidazolones Derivatives of d-Glucose

The surface and self-aggregation properties in water of a new series of amphiphilic homologues, bis-benzimidazolone derivatives of d-glucose, were investigated. Parameters such as the maximal surface excess concentration, minimal area per molecule at the interface, and critical micelle concentration (CMC) were found to be significantly dependent on the hydrophobic alkyl chain length. The synthesized compounds form micelles at remarkably low concentrations, and CMCs derived from surface tension measurements show a minimum as a function of the alkyl chain length; this unusual trend can be attributed to the formation of submicellar aggregates in compounds with long alkyl chains, as evidenced from fluorescence probe spectroscopy data. At high surfactant concentrations, lyotropic liquid crystalline phases with hexagonal structure are formed. Small angle X-ray scattering measurements indicate that the characteristic nanoscopic lengths increase with water swelling and alkyl chain length.