Thermal-Sensitive Viscosity Transition of Elongated Micelles Induced by Breaking Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding of Amide Groups

A heat-induced viscosity transition of novel worm-like micelles of a long alkyl-chain amidoamine derivative (C18AA) bearing intermolecular hydrogen-bonding group was investigated by cryo-TEM, FT-IR, and rheological measurements. At lower temperature, C18AA forms straight elongated micelles with a length on the order of micrometers due to strong intermolecular hydrogen-bonded packing of the amide groups, although the micelles rarely entangle and have low value of zero-shear viscosity. The straight elongated micelles likely became flexible and underwent a morphological transition from straight structure to worm-like structure at a certain temperature, which caused a drastic increase in viscosity due to entanglement of the micelles. This morphological transition was caused by a defect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the amide groups on heating. Furthermore, addition of LiCl, which acts as hydrogen-bond breaker, also promoted the viscosity transition, leading to a lowering of the transition temperature.