Recent progress of magnetic surfactants: Self-assembly, properties and functions

Abstract

Self-assembly of magnetic surfactants has developed rapidly in physical chemistry, materials science and biomedicine science. By incorporating paramagnetic component within the cation or anion, magnetic surfactants exhibit a strong magnetic response and enhanced hydrophobicity. By subtle design, magnetic surfactants could self-assemble to generate various magnetic aggregates, biomaterials and nano-materials, such as the bacillus-shaped bilayer vesicle, thermotropic liquid crystals, DNA hybrid nanosphere as well as magnetic fullerene, graphene, mesoporous silica and Au nanoparticles. This review highlights the properties of magnetic surfactants as well as their self-assembly behavior and applications.