ABSTRACT
This book deals with microheterogeneous systems, which refer to an aggregated system in which the structure of the constituent molecules along with the solvent or other surrounding medium determines the structure of the aggregate. Optimization of catalysis requires intimate knowledge on the mobility of molecules inside or outside the aggregate and the reaction dynamics (the domain of kinetics). It turns out that, due to their peculiar organization and mobility characteristics, most of the laws describing diffusional kinetics of homogeneous solutions are not valid in the microheterogeneous media. Micellar aggregates composed of single-chain surfactant molecules are the simplest of the dynamic aggregates to effect catalysis. Surfactants in apolar solvents can solubilize considerable amounts of water with the formation of inverted or reversed micelles. The kinetics and mechanism of charge transfer and charge accumulation on the colloidal redox catalysts are elucidated by various methods.
