Surfactant Self-Assembled Structures and their Interaction Potentials by Means of Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Abstract

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a well-established technique, which plays an important role in structural characterization on a length scale of ca. 1∼100 nm. Since many physical properties of nano-materials are often closely linked with size, shape, and internal structure of their components, and interaction potentials, precise and rapid structural characterization is expected to be more and more desired. After brief introduction into theoretical aspects of scattering methods, our recent SAXS experiments on lyotropic liquid crystals, micellar solutions, protein solutions, and vesicle dispersions are presented, aiming at intuitively showing ‘what can be learnt from SAXS’ to scientists and engineers working on diverse material sciences as well as surfactant chemistry.