Highly diluted solutions of amphiphilic derivatives of calix[4]resorcinols: self-organization and physicochemical properties

Self-organization and physicochemical properties of highly diluted solutions (10(-11)-10(-2) mol L-1) in aqueous DMF (30 vol.% DMF) of a series of octasubstituted amphiphilic calix[4]resorcinols (CRs 1-4, where 1 is CR with carboxymethyl groups, 2 is its potassium salt, and 3 and 4 are CRs with acetylhydrazide and tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamide fragments) stored both under natural conditions and in the absence of external physical fields (geomagnetic and low-frequency electromagnetic) were studied by a complex of methods (dynamic light scattering, electrophoresis, tensiometry, conductometry, and pH metry). The studied solutions of CRs 1-4 are dispersed systems in which micelles (for CRs 1, 2, and 4), supramolecular domains (for CRs 1-4), and nanoassociates (for CRs 2-4) are formed, depending on hydrophilicity and nature of functional groups of CRs in various concentration ranges. The new approach to studying highly diluted solutions made it possible to explain for the first time the reasons for the nonmonotonic changes in the physicochemical properties and surface activity of aqueous-dimethylformamide highly diluted solutions of amphiphilic calix[4]resorcinols (10(-4)-10(-7) mol L-1) from the viewpoint of the formation and rearrangement of supramolecular domains and nanoassociates.