Surface induced ordering of micelles at the solid-liquid interface

The surface induced ordering of triblock copolymer micelles in aqueous solution was measured with neutron reflectivity far above the critical micelle concentration. The scattering length density profiles showed a clear indication of ordered layers of micelles perpendicular to a quartz surface. The structure and interactions of the micelles were modeled in detail. The convolution of the center distribution of the micelles, obtained from Monte Carlo simulations of hard spheres at a hard wall, and the projected density of the micelle showed excellent agreement with the experimental profiles. [S1063-651X(98)06712-9].