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Polymeric micelles have a much lower critical micellar concentration (CMC) than soap (0.0001 to 0.001 mol/L) or surfactant micelles, but are nevertheless at equilibrium with isolated macromolecules called unimers. Therefore, micelle formation and stability are concentration-dependent. [3]
Having the characteristics of soaps, sodium stearate has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, a carboxylate and a long hydrocarbon chain. These two chemically different components induce the formation of micelles, which present the hydrophilic heads outwards and their hydrophobic (hydrocarbon) tails inwards, providing a lipophilic environment for hydrophobic compounds.
In colloidal chemistry, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of a surfactant is one of the parameters in the Gibbs free energy of micellization. The concentration at which the monomeric surfactants self-assemble into thermodynamically stable aggregates is the CMC.
Structure of a micelle. Detergent molecules aggregate to form micelles, which makes them soluble in water. The hydrophobic group of the detergent is the main driving force of micelle formation, its aggregation forms the hydrophobic core of the micelles. The micelle can remove grease, protein or soiling particles.
A handmade soap bar Two equivalent images of the chemical structure of sodium stearate, a typical ingredient found in bar soaps Emulsifying action of soap on oil. Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. [1]
A micellar cubic phase is a lyotropic liquid crystal phase formed when the concentration of micelles dispersed in a solvent (usually water) is sufficiently high that they are forced to pack into a structure having a long-ranged positional (translational) order. For example, spherical micelles a cubic packing of a body-centered cubic lattice.
Soap is a common household amphiphilic surfactant compound. Soap mixed with water (polar, hydrophilic) is useful for cleaning oils and fats (non-polar, lipiphillic) from kitchenware, dishes, skin, clothing, etc.
A mixture of soap and water is an everyday example of a lyotropic liquid crystal. Biological structures such as fibrous proteins showings relatively long and well-defined hydrophobic and hydrophilic ‘‘blocks’’ of aminoacids can also show lyotropic liquid crystalline behaviour. [6]