Switching chirality in the assemblies of bio-based amphiphiles solely by varying their alkyl chain length

Abstract

Here we show that chirality inversion can be realized solely by changing the alkyl chain length of sorbitol–alkylamine surfactants. The chirality switch phenomenon is attributed to twisting of a headgroup, which depends on the balance between hydrophobic interaction and torsional stress, resulting in various orientational orders in assemblies and chirality inversion.