Formation of Reverse Cylindrical Micelles Using Mixtures of Lecithin and Salts

Lecithin is one type of surfactant with amphiphilic properties, which forms spherical reverse micelles in various organic solvents. Salts with markedly low solubility in organic solvents can significantly increase their solubility through ionic interactions through the hydrophilic head of lecithin, leading to changes in the molecular morphology of lecithin. As a result, spherical reverse micelles can transform into cylindrical reverse micelles, which can cause abrupt rheological changes when these cylindrical reverse micelles form a transient network. This study precisely analyzes the formation of self-assembled structures and rheological changes by simultaneously adding two types of salts to a lecithin solution, using small-angle X-ray scattering analysis and rheometry.