Polymeric surfactant structure

Abstract

Polymeric surfactants are amongst the most widespread of all polymers. In nature, proteins and polysaccharides cause self organization as a result of this surfactancy; in industry, polymeric surfactants play key roles in the food, explosives and surface coatings sectors. The generation of useful nano-and micro-structures in films and emulsions as a result of polymer amphiphilicity and the application of mechanical stress is discussed. The use of X-ray and neutron small angle scattering and reflectivity to measure these structures and their dynamic properties will be described. New results on linear and dendritic polymer surfactants are presented.