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Measurement of Solubilization Location in Micelles Using Anchored Aggregation‐Induced Emission Donors
Author(s) -
Guan Weijiang,
Yang Tingting,
Lu Chao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202005085
Subject(s) - solubilization , micelle , chemistry , cationic polymerization , micellar solutions , alkyl , tetraphenylethylene , chemical engineering , photochemistry , organic chemistry , aqueous solution , aggregation induced emission , optics , biochemistry , physics , fluorescence , engineering
Abstract Solubilization locations play a critical role in developing advanced surfactants and improving solubilization power in micelle‐based applications. However, the current polarity‐based techniques for measuring solubilization locations could come to conflicting conclusions. The key challenge is the unpredictable polarities in the micellar microenvironment. Now, an approach that is independent of micellar polarities is used to measure solubilization locations by covalently linking tetraphenylethylene (TPE) to the alkyl chain end of cationic surfactants. The solubilization locations of solubilized acceptors in the TPE‐cored spherical micelles were accurately measured by calculating the Förster resonance energy transfer distance between anchored TPE donors and solubilized acceptors. Solubilization locations of solubilized substances in the micellar interior and at the micellar surface depend on their size and hydrophobicity, respectively.