@article{AryaJelkenLomadzeetal.2020,
  author    = {Arya, Pooja and Jelken, Joachim and Lomadze, Nino and Santer, Svetlana and Bekir, Marek},
  title     = {Kinetics of photo-isomerization of azobenzene containing surfactants},
  series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistry},
  volume    = {152},
  journal   = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistry},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {American Institute of Physics},
  address   = {Melville},
  issn      = {0021-9606},
  doi       = {10.1063/1.5135913},
  pages     = {10},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {We report on photoisomerization kinetics of azobenzene containing surfactants in aqueous solution. The surfactant molecule consists of a positively charged trimethylammonium bromide head group, a hydrophobic spacer connecting via 6 to 10 CH2 groups to the azobenzene unit, and the hydrophobic tail of 1 and 3CH(2) groups. Under exposure to light, the azobenzene photoisomerizes from more stable trans- to metastable cis-state, which can be switched back either thermally in dark or by illumination with light of a longer wavelength. The surfactant isomerization is described by a kinetic model of a pseudo first order reaction approaching equilibrium, where the intensity controls the rate of isomerization until the equilibrated state. The rate constants of the trans-cis and cis-trans photoisomerization are calculated as a function of several parameters such as wavelength and intensity of light, the surfactant concentration, and the length of the hydrophobic tail. The thermal relaxation rate from cis- to trans-state is studied as well. The surfactant isomerization shows a different kinetic below and above the critical micellar concentration of the trans isomer due to steric hindrance within the densely packed micelle but does not depend on the spacer length.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{UmlandtFeldmannSchnecketal.2020,
  author    = {Umlandt, Maren and Feldmann, David and Schneck, Emanuel and Santer, Svetlana and Bekir, Marek},
  title     = {Adsorption of photoresponsive surfactants at solid-liquid interfaces},
  series = {Langmuir},
  volume    = {36},
  journal   = {Langmuir},
  number    = {46},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0743-7463},
  doi       = {10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02545},
  pages     = {14009 -- 14018},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {We report on the adsorption kinetics of azoben-zene-containing surfactants on solid surfaces of different hydrophobicity. The understanding of this processes is of great importance for many interfacial phenomena that can be actuated and triggered by light, since the surfactant molecules contain a photoresponsive azobenzene group in their hydrophobic tail. Three surfactant types are studied, differing in the spacer connecting the headgroup and the azobenzene unit by between 6 and 10 CH2 groups. Under irradiation with light of a suitable wavelength, the azobenzene undergoes reversible photoisomerization between two states, a nonpolar trans-state and a highly polar cis-state. Consequently, the surfactant molecule changes its hydrophobicity and thus affinity to a surface depending on the photoisomerization state of the azobenzene. The adsorption behavior on hydrophilic (glass) and hydrophobic (TeflonAF) surfaces is analyzed using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and zeta-potential measurements. At equilibrium, the adsorbed surfactant amount is almost twice as large on glass compared to TeflonAF for both isomers. The adsorption rate for the trans-isomers on both surfaces is similar, but the desorption rate of the trans-isomers is faster at the glass-water interface than at the Teflon-water interface. This result demonstrates that the trans-isomers have higher affinity for the glass surface, so the trans-to-cis ratios on glass and TeflonAF are 80/1 and 2/1, respectively, with similar trends for all three surfactant types.},
  language  = {en}
}