Scattering Insights into Shear-Induced Scission of Rod-like Micelles

TL;DR

This study uses scattering techniques and simulations to investigate how shear forces cause scission and alignment of rod-like micelles, providing insights into their mechanical stability and behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a combined experimental and analytical framework to quantify micelle scission and alignment under shear, advancing understanding of flow-induced micellar dynamics.

Findings

Micelle length decreases with increasing shear rate.

Micelle alignment increases with shear, indicating flow-induced orientation.

Experimental evidence supports flow-induced scission and alignment phenomena.

Abstract

Hypothesis Understanding the scission of rod-like micelles under mechanical forces is crucial for optimizing their stability and behavior in industrial applications. This study investigates how micelle length, flexibility, and external forces interact, offering insights into the design of micellar systems in processes influenced by mechanical stress. Although significant, direct experimental observations of flow-induced micellar scission using scattering techniques remain scarce. Experiments and Simulations Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) is used to explore the shear response of aqueous cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solutions with sodium nitrate. Rheological tests show shear thinning with no shear banding, ensuring a uniform flow field for reliable interpretation of scattering data. As shear rate increases, the scattering spectra show angular distortion, which is analyzed using spherical harmonic decomposition to characterize flow-induced scission and micelle orientation under shear. Findings Two analysis steps are used: a model-independent spectral eigendecomposition reveals a decrease in micellar length, while regression analysis quantifies the evolution of the length distribution and mean length with shear rate. Additionally, micelle alignment increases with shear, quantified by the orientational distribution function. These findings provide experimental evidence for flow-induced alignment and scission, offering a new framework for understanding shear-induced phenomena in micellar systems