Basic Properties of Wormlike Micelles

Abstract

Surfactants are probably the most fascinating family of small amphiphilic molecules, not only because of their everyday use in our life, but also because of their attractive macroscopic properties—all of which result from their versatile self-assembly properties and microstructures. In this chapter, we recall the basic properties of surfactant assemblies, in particular, the classical “critical packing parameter” theory which is widely used to predict aggregate morphology, and retrace the historical development of wormlike micelles (WLMs), and the unique characteristics that WLMs possess, as well as generic models used to describe them. Finally, we state the motivation and the organization of this monograph.