ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the physical chemistry of the separate components themselves, that is, surfactants and polymers in solution. Areas of active and continuing research are concerned with the physical chemistry of aqueous surfactant solutions and of aqueous polymer solutions. The category of interacting nonionic polymer/ionic surfactant pairs the notion of site binding of the surfactant, still useful conceptually as regards detailed binding behavior, has given way progressively to mechanisms based on a perturbation of the micellization of the surfactant by the polymer. The view of polymer/surfactant interaction is that, in the complex, segments of the polymer are wrapped around the micelle to relieve both of these stresses. Deal of renewed interest is being shown in what can be termed "polymeric surfactants", that is, soluble polymers in which the hydrophobic groups are long alkyl groups and which are akin to preformed polymer/surfactant complexes.
