ABSTRACT
One of the most remarkable discoveries is the widespread existence of giant micellar aggregates adsorbed to solid-solution interfaces. Giant micelles have not only been found to be almost ubiquitous on mica, but to occur on many other surfaces as well. The formation of adsorbed giant micelles influences the equilibrium and dynamic properties of the adsorbed layer in several ways. The forces between surfactant-coated surfaces are highly sensitive to adsorbed layer morphology. In addition to giant micelles on surfaces, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scattering techniques have revealed near-surface structures consisting of multilayered arrays of organized micelles. These may be aligned by flow, or organized by confinement between surfaces, or both. Most conventional surfactants have by been investigated by one of the two major techniques available for investigating adsorbed layer structure — AFM or neutron reflectometry. AFM uses a sharp tip mounted on a springlike cantilever to probe the lateral morphology of an adsorbed surfactant layer.
