NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.

Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

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

Published

Author(s)

Guan-Rong Huang, Ryan Murphy, Lionel Porcar, Chi-Huan Tung, Changwoo Do, Wei-Ren Chen

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.
Citation
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume
686
Pub Type
Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.02.039
Local Download
Neutron research

Citation

Huang, G. , Murphy, R. , Porcar, L. , Tung, C. , Do, C. and Chen, W. (2025), Scattering Insights into Shear-Induced Scission of Rod-like Micelles, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.02.039, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=960459 (Accessed October 8, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created May 15, 2025, Updated July 15, 2025
Was this page helpful?