Multi-scale structural characterizations of fatty acid tubes with temperature tuneable diameter in bulk and at the air/water interface

Abstract

The use of agricultural resources for industrial purposes will undoubtedly be one of the major challenges of the 21^st century, either from the energetic point of view by the progressive replacement of fossil fuels or with respect to non-energy uses by making available new organic “biosynthons” to the chemicals industry. In such a context, we demonstrate here the strong potential of dispersions of saturated fatty acids and their hydroxylated derivatives, extracted from biological compounds of plant origin, as a new class of green surfactants.