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The continuous nonpolar phase can change the morphology of lecithin reverse micelles dramatically. In alkane solvents, increasing the hydration leads to gelation as isolated water droplets transform into an entangled tube network. In contrast, increasing the hydration for lecithin in benzene maintains isolated, largely spherical traditional reverse micelles. Solvation dynamics experiments have been carried out in the two different micellar environments. These measurements show that solvation dynamics are considerably more restricted in the tubular micelles than in the spherical droplets. This is interpreted as evidence for water pool formation and disorder at the interface in the spherical micelles and supports the hypothesis of substantial water incorporation into the tubular micelles. To perform solvation dynamics experiments in the benzene/lecithin/water reverse micelles, we have synthesized a new headgroup-labeled probe molecule. This synthesis, coupling the standard solvation dynamics probe, coumarin...

The solvation dynamics of water in lecithin/cyclohexane reverse micelles have been determined via ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence studies. At hydration levels w0 ≤ 4.8, the reverse micellar samples are nonviscous. Here a single relaxation time is observed that is much longer than the response of free or bulk water. In contrast, small additions of water to the samples produces a viscous gel, referred to by others as an organogel or “living polymer”. At hydration levels of w0 ≥ 5.8, three relaxation times are observed with approximate time constants of 0.5, 15, and 200 ps, the shortest of which correlates to free water motion. The dynamics reveal no evidence of micelle crossover or branch points associated with gel formation. In comparison to Aerosol OT reverse micelles of similar hydration, the water in the lecithin reverse micelles is significantly more restricted. It is proposed that lecithin sequesters significantly more water than previously predicted precluding formation of distinct core water po...

The mobility of water in water/Aerosol OT (AOT)/isooctane reverse micelles has been investigated via polar solvation dynamics measurements using ultrafast, time-resolved fluorescence-upconversion spectroscopy. For the smallest reverse micelles studied, w0 = 1.1, no solvation dynamics are observed on the time scale of the instrument, suggesting that the water is essentially frozen. As w0 increases, the mobility of water increases, and the time-correlation functions exhibit multiexponential decays. A subpicosecond component is observed on a time scale similar to that of diffusive bulk-water motion.1 The other components decay on time scales of a few picoseconds to hundreds of picoseconds. The amplitude of the solvent response increases as w0 increases, which is attributed to increased mobility of the water inside the reverse micelles. Because the micellar interior is highly ionic, the solvation dynamics of coumarin 343 in a 1 M Na+ (Na2SO4) solution were also investigated to compare the dynamics of water in...

Polar solvation dynamics in various reverse micellar environments are investigated. The solvent is immobilized in the smallest micelles and becomes more mobile with increasing water content and micellar size.